


A Distracting Fondness

by slackerD



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/F, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-19
Updated: 2014-10-02
Packaged: 2018-01-16 06:43:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 58,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1335832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slackerD/pseuds/slackerD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While Felicity tries to find some answers for an old friend, she also begins falling for Sara.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place after 2x14, ignoring Slade's appearance at the end.
> 
> I wanted to try and write a longer Smoaking Canary and was hoping to post it as a long one shot. But since I write slow and also wanted to at least start posting before 2x16, I'm posting part one now. I've got about 5 parts written so far, so hopefully I can actually finish within a reasonable amount of time.

The ringing of her cell phone jolts Felicity out of the work haze she's in. Because of this, she answers it without checking the ID.

"Hello?"

"Felicity?" a hesitant voice asks.

"This is she. Who is this?"

"It's, uh, Trevor. Trevor Mitchell?"

Felicity hasn't spoken to her high school boyfriend since the summer after graduation. It was an amicable break up; they were heading in two very different directions and even though they wanted to try and stay friends, it just wasn't meant to be.

"I, um, I kind of need your help," he continues.

Felicity listens as Trevor explains that his boyfriend, Kevin is missing and that Trevor fears that he's dead. A computer programmer who likes to hack corporate security systems just to prove he can, Kevin recently received a mysterious email offering him a job as a hacker. Despite Trevor's protests and concerns, Kevin decided to accept. The last time Trevor saw him was over a week ago when he left to meet his new employer.

"Did you file a missing person's report?" Felicity asks.

"Of course," Trevor replies. "But the police were less than receptive. They said that this is probably just his way of breaking up with me. I think they threw it in the round file."

"Oh."

"We've been together for five years, Felicity," Trevor continues. "We've lived together for two. There's no way he would just leave." He takes a deep breath and Felicity can tell he's trying not to cry. "I... I think he's dead."

"Trevor..."

"The offer was just too good to be true," he explains. "But also so shady. Like when they terminate your employment, they do it by terminating you."

"I get it, Trev, I do," Felicity replies. "But I'm not sure what you want me to do."

"You work for Oliver Queen," Trevor explains. "He's gotta have some influence. Maybe you could ask him to like, I don't know... something."

Felicity sighs. This is actually something she could look into and she knows it's partly what Trevor is implying. Her ex has a type, super smart computer nerds. He knows she could maybe find _some_ thing out for him. She's just not sure what he expects her to do after that. It's not like he knows that she works with the Vigilante. 

"Can you send me all the info you have?" she asks.

"You're the best Felicity," he exclaims. "I'll owe you big for this."

"Great, I can't wait to take advantage of a lifetime of free hockey equipment."

"The shop's actually doing really well at the moment."

Felicity rolls her eyes, but simply says, "I'm sure it is."

"Felicity," he says, voice solemn. "Thank you. Really."

"I haven't found out anything yet," she reminds him.

"It doesn't matter," he replies. "It means a lot to me that you're even going to try. You'll have all the info by the end of the day. Thanks again."

"Talk to you soon."

**…**

Felicity's a bit surprised to receive a thick envelope delivered by courier a few hours later. Everything she will need is inside and distracts her from wondering why Trevor wouldn't just email everything. But then upon further reflection, she realizes he's probably feeling a bit paranoid.

A series of emails are paper clipped together with a post-it stating Kevin's email and password on top. Flipping through them, Felicity agrees with Trevor that the whole thing seems a bit shady, but she also understands why Kevin decided to take a chance. Besides, the major ego boost the first email is giving, the prospect of tons of cash is definitely nice. Still, she's not sure if those two things would be enough to convince her to meet a random stranger at a seedy bar. Then again, she knows exactly who and what lurks in the shadows of Starling City.

She now knows way too much personal info about her ex boyfriend's current boyfriend. Felicity takes a moment and tries to separate the personal aspect from it and begins trying to find Kevin. She starts with anyone listed as a John Doe at the hospitals and unidentified bodies in the morgue. She has access to Kevin's medical file and uses it to compare his blood type and dental records to those unclaimed in the morgue.

There are a total of four unclaimed bodies in the morgue. Unfortunately, the third coroner's report she reads seems like it's talking about Kevin. An apparent mugging victim that was stabbed, he bled out and because his ID was missing, they had no way of knowing who he is. Oddly, they couldn't match his fingerprints or DNA in the system, so he's just MG-0142312.

Even though she's never met Kevin Hearlmen, Felicity finds herself tearing up a bit. She has the answer she was looking for, but it's not enough.

**…**

Since Felicity already spends way too much time in the Foundry, she decides to combine her usual Team Arrow (and she's still going to refer to them as that no matter how much Oliver wishes otherwise) duties with trying to track down Kevin's mysterious employer. It's easy enough to do. Just to be on the safe side, the system is built to stand up to three times as many things than she's usually running, so she's not worried about being able to do both.

Her real concern is keeping it a secret; even if she's not sure why she wants to. The others would understand her need to help out an old friend. It's probably because her instincts are screaming that she's stumbled onto something much bigger than her ex realizes and she needs a lot more details before she involves the team. She tells herself it's because she doesn't want to leave Trevor with more questions than answers (which is definitely true), but it's also about stopping someone who is obviously scheming towards something big.

And honestly, there really are too many unanswered questions about the situation. The problem is that she's not entirely sure where to start. Looking over everything Trevor sent her, she tries looking for any sort of clue. But whoever the employer is, he's covered his tracks well. It makes Felicity wonder if this is because he has computer skills himself or has found some really good people to help him get started.

Felicity has a feeling that Kevin isn't the first victim and so she decides to look into the background of people who have been reported missing. It takes running everyone through several filters, characteristics similar to Kevin, but she eventually finds five other possibilities. She's able to narrow the list down to just two candidates and begins to delve into their lives.

Dani Johnstone is an obvious one. An IT specialist with a lot of debt, Felicity imagines that an offer of easy money would be something she'd consider. Looking over her work history, Felicity thinks that she definitely fits the profile and wouldn't be surprised if she finds a history of hacking.

The hacking is the key. While the five she find all seem to have a natural aptitude for computers, akin to her own skills, it's whether or not they seem capable and/or willing to take that next step. It's what makes Felicity put Dani on her list as well as a Paul Launders. He, like Dani, has significant debt, but it's the numerous red flags surrounding him that really makes him stand out. He's been investigated numerous times for possible hacking, six times in college for grade tampering. But impressively, no one's been able to prove anything.

These two are a good starting point, but Felicity knows she's going to have dig deeper.

**…**

Once Sara's decided she's staying, her dad tells her that she can stay with him. She accepts knowing she has limited options and that she and Laurel are definitely not at that point yet. Plus, there's not having to explain the whole night gig thing to him; Sara knows he still worries (he is her dad, after all), but at least he knows she can take care of herself.

Not to mention, the number of times, they've ended up at scenes together.

It's funny, growing up, Sara looked up to her dad, but she never wanted to be a cop. And yet now, she and he are both trying to do some good; albeit in two very different ways. Too much has happened to Sara for her not to try. The fact that she has others that feel the same way just makes it a bit easier. She doesn't have to feel so alone anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

Felicity's new personal mission has her constantly in front of a computer (as opposed to _almost_ constantly, a slight, but important difference) and it's probably part of the reason, that her shoulder seems to be taking so long to heal. She's done some adjusting to how she sits and it helps. Either way, she really doesn't mind. Not only will she have a scar (which also allows her to cross two things off her Team Arrow bucket list), but she also proved herself. Not to Oliver, Dig and Sara, but to herself. The self doubt that Sara's presence stirred up in her has disappeared and she kind of feels that they're really a team.

This has allowed her to relax a bit and enjoy the expansion of the usual superhero workout floor show she's surrounded by. Besides trying to teach Roy focus and control, there seems to be a lot of sparring happening between Sara and Oliver. Felicity knows it's probably a bit like foreplay for both of them; she can see it in their eyes. The twinge of jealousy she feels at that knowledge isn't surprising to her, but the realization that it's of both of them she's jealous of, is.

Felicity knows that she's always been an equal opportunity ogler. She works with super hot well trained fighters who look like they're performing a beautifully coordinated dance when they spar. Being able to watch and enjoy is one of the perks of her job. Adding Sara into the mix just makes it even more interesting to watch.

Ever since she was shot, Felicity's mind has focused more and more on Sara. She finds her fascinating and intriguing, in a completely different way than Oliver is. Watching Oliver fight is an amazing thing to witness, but Sara is poetry in motion, fluid grace and beauty that catches Felicity off guard.

And so Felicity finds herself watching Sara more. She just can't help herself. Obviously used to knowing if she's being watched, Sara will always look up with a smile, acknowledging that Felicity is observing her. Felicity's response is usually to duck her head and return to whatever she'd been working on. But Sara never says anything, so even though she doesn't mean to, Felicity keeps studying. 

**…**

When Felicity comes in early one morning and finds Sara stretched out on the couch in the Foundry, she offers her own apartment as a place that Sara can crash instead of the cold basement. Because while it's probably better equipped and more comfortable than most basements, it's still a basement. And honestly, part of it is that Felicity hates the idea of Sara being down there alone.

Felicity knows that Sara is staying with her dad, so she's confused. Sara explains that while her dad means well, it's been so long since she's had parents that she's probably not reacting the best to his presence all the time. And so instead of risking that relationship, she's just crashing elsewhere.

When Felicity asks about staying with Oliver, Sara looks a little embarrassed. Felicity immediately tries to assure her that how she feels about Oliver (because apparently _everyone_ knows, even his mother) shouldn't be an issue. 

"That's good to know," Sara replies. "But it's not just that. There's _a lot_ of tension in that house. It makes that first Lanc family dinner seem pleasant. Once Mrs. Queen got over her joy of my return, she seemed to remember that I was on that boat with Oliver, that I was helping her son cheat on his girlfriend, who Mrs. Queen approves of far more than me. Not to mention, that Oliver can't stand to even be in the same room as his mom. And he won't explain why, which is incredibly frustrating. And then Roy's around because of Thea and I think he's still struggling a bit with all the secret keeping, so I try to stay out of his line of sight. Which, of course, makes Thea curious. Plus there's the fact that Sin and I have history that we have to hide—"

Felicity can't help but burst out laughing. Sara looks offended.

"No," Felicity says. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It's just, I thought _I_ was the babbler."

"An adorable one," Sara replies.

Felicity fights off her blush and continues. "And second, when did life get so complicated? I mean, you can't even stay over at your boyfriend's without it being this big thing and—"

"I'm not sure I would call him my boyfriend," Sara interrupts.

"Oh," Felicity says. "But aren't you two..."

"Sleeping together?" Sara supplies. "Yeah. And I suppose technically, we're together. But after all this time, it's just not as simple as that."

"Of course not," Felicity chuckles. 

Thankfully, this time Sara seems to understand that Felicity isn't laughing at her.

"I know, right," Sara replies.

"Well, you're welcome to stay with me if you need to," Felicity tells her. "It's not that big of an apartment, but at least I have plenty of stuff you can watch to distract you. Plus, I bet there's tons of pop culture for you to catch up on. That way if you can't sleep, at least you won't be bored."

"What makes you think I can't sleep?" Sara questions.

Felicity shrugs. "I just figured that the meshing of the person you used to be with the person you've been forced to become has to be difficult. It wasn't easy for Oliver; still isn't. I assume it's similar for you. Maybe even more so because of how you returned."

"Are you sure?" Sara asks. "Because I have nightmares."

"I'd be worried if you didn't," Felicity says.

"I don't want to wake you up," Sara tells her.

"And I don't want you to wake up here, alone," Felicity replies.

Sara smiles. "You're sweet."

"So is that a yes?"

"It is," Sara nods.

"Good," Felicity says. "Now that that's settled, I have a couple things to do."

"Of course," Sara replies. "Go ahead. I'm feeling the need to work off some energy."

"Doing what?"

"Why do you ask?" Sara grins as she stands.

"No reason," Felicity replies. "Curious."

"Uh huh."

"Okay, so maybe I'm worried about being distracted," Felicity rushes out. "Cause that happens kinda a lot with you, er, all of you."

Sara grins.

"You guys are just in really good shape is all," Felicity finishes.

"So no salmon ladder?" Sara teases. "Ollie said that you may have a special fondness for it?"

"Of course he did," Felicity mutters.

"Don't be like that," Sara tells her. "I never mind being admired by a beautiful woman." She winks.

"Oh." Felicity might actually be speechless. If she didn't know better, she'd think that Sara was flirting with her. "Good."

"I'll stop distracting you then," Sara grins as she walks towards the mats.

"Thanks," Felicity says, quietly, trying to regain equilibrium, as she slowly makes her way to the computers.

As she settles in, Felicity lets herself watch Sara, hoping it will allow her to remain focused when she begins working. She hasn't had any more luck finding possible hackers killed by the mysterious employer, so she's shifted her focus to possible crimes. The problem is that nowadays technology is everywhere and so it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack. She's been systematically tracking anything that might be easy to hack and could lead to a large payout, but so far, nothing.

Watching Sara do headstand push ups and smirking, makes Felicity believe that Sara really was flirting with her. She's not entirely sure how she feels about that, especially given what Sara said about her and Oliver's... relationship earlier. 

Then again, there's nothing wrong with harmless flirting, right? And in retrospect, Sara's been doing it since they met. Apparently Felicity's rambling has the ability to mel— 

And then Felicity's focus is entirely on her screen as something catches her eye. Someone's been stealing from charities. That seems rather horrible and wasn't what she was expecting to find. She finds three separate incidents. They're never large amounts, well, not large amounts in terms of embezzlement, but for the charities themselves, $30,000 from one, $23,000 from another and $35,000 from the third, are all significant sums. And she only has her instincts to go on, but Felicity _knows_ they're related; especially since the $23,000 was taken about three weeks ago. She has a feeling that Kevin is the one that took it. With further investigation, Felicity finds that the $30,000 disappeared about a month before Paul Launders was reported missing and the $35,000 disappeared about six weeks before Dani Johnstone was.

It gives Felicity both a timeline and an example of what sort of things she should be looking for, while also making her a bit nauseous about what sort of things she's going to stumble upon next. She sinks down a bit in her seat, trying to keep the confusion and anxiety that's most likely on her face out of Sara's line of sight. She knows she should probably say something to the others, but she still feels like she doesn't have enough to go on. Actually, it's that she believes that there's a lot more out there for her to find. And without that information, she can't come up with an approach. And since she wants to solve this because of her promise to Trevor, she should be the one who comes up with a plan.

Glancing at the time, tells Felicity she's going to be late for work. She knows that Oliver would understand, but Isabel Rochev definitely won't. Gathering what she needs for her day, Felicity stands and looks towards the mats. Sara is stretching and Felicity catches her eye.

"I gotta get to the office," she tells Sara. "Promise me that you won't spend all day down here alone."

"I'm going to head back to my dad's and maybe have breakfast with him," Sara replies. "I just didn't want to leave you here alone."

Felicity smiles. "I appreciate the company. I'll see you later?"

"Looking forward to it," Sara grins.

Enjoying the warm fuzzy feeling that Sara's grin gives her, Felicity hurries up the stairs and heads towards Queen Consolidated.

**…**

Felicity's glad that Sara eventually took her up on her offer of a place to crash. She'd been worried when Sara didn't show up for four nights, thinking that maybe she'd changed her mind. But on the fifth night, Felicity had been flipping through the channels because sleep was eluding her, when she heard a knock on her door. Though she vehemently hoped it was Sara, Felicity still used the peep hole before opening the door.

"You're still awake," Sara says, obviously surprised.

"Did you purposely wait until you thought I wouldn't be?" Felicity questions, stepping aside to let Sara in.

Sara shrugged. "I volunteered to close. Then I needed a little air."

"Did you walk here?" 

"I can take care of myself," Sara replies.

"Of which I am fully aware," Felicity retorts. "But even heroes need sleep."

"I'm no hero, Felicity," Sara tells her as they both sink onto the couch.

Deciding to let that go, Felicity hands Sara the remote. 

"Were you waiting up for me?" Sara asks. "Please tell me you haven't been doing that every night."

"Someone thinks pretty highly of themselves," Felicity scoffs. "I just couldn't sleep. Figured I'd lull myself to sleep with mindless TV."

"Is that why you're watching... The Home Shopping Network?" Sara asks.

"What exactly are you implying?"

"Nothing," Sara replies. "Just asking."

"I wasn't really watching anything, actually," Felicity tells her. "I was channel surfing when you knocked."

"Mind if I find something a bit more interesting, then?"

"Be my guest," Felicity replies, snuggling into the couch cushions.

Following Felicity's lead, Sara shuffles and twists, obviously trying to get comfortable. To Felicity's surprise, when Sara finally does settle down, there's no space between them. It leaves her feeling both anxious (because Felicity's pretty certain she's developing a crush on Sara) and safe (because there's just something comforting about having a hero next to her on the couch). 

Because of this, it isn't long before Felicity finds herself drifting off, her head falling onto Sara's shoulder as she, just like Felicity earlier, ends up channel surfing, dissatisfied with all the choices.

**…**

For Sara, Felicity Smoak is the most unexpected things about returning to Starling City. Not used to such pleasant surprises, she can't help but enjoy the experience and so she finds herself watching Felicity while training. Sara finds the look of concentration on her face adorable, the only thing more endearing is Felicity's reaction to a wink from Sara.

It's also why she finds herself spending the night at Felicity's more than anywhere else. At first, it had been the easy acceptance and the lack of judgment; it's obviously what drew Ollie to Felicity. But the more time that Sara spends around Felicity, the more she wants to. Her presence is almost addictive. It's just been so long since Sara spent time with someone like Felicity. If she ever did in the first place. 

She ends up opening up to Felicity, little bits and pieces here and there. The delight on her face when she learns random facts about Sara is something she treasures. No one's ever been so pleased to learn that she drinks her coffee with cream or doesn't like orange juice. It starts with small things like that and then without even realizing it, Sara's sharing snippets of her time on the ship or on the island or with the league.

In turn she learns things about Felicity as well, though it does take some time. Sara realizes, when Felicity lets it slip that her dad left her family, that despite being known for talking too much, Felicity rarely shares personal information. So being on the receiving end of Felicity facts is a pretty precious thing for Sara and always makes her crave more; more time spent with, more attention given, and more affection from. And without quite realizing it (by either of them), Felicity becomes Sara's safe place.


	3. Chapter 3

Sara spending the night becomes a regular thing. Felicity has no idea what time she'll show up at, it varies depending on whether she was bartending or down in the basement. They usually end up on the couch in front of the TV, but since Felicity's mouth gets ahead of her brain, she can't help but ask questions, especially since there is rarely anything on worth watching. Though there are plenty of things that Sara seems reluctant to answer, Felicity never gets the sense that she necessarily minds that the questions are being asked. Which means that Felicity keeps asking.

It's a nice routine; even if it's only for a few hours. Because for all the time she spends at Queen Consolidated or in the Foundry, Felicity enjoys being able to relax in her apartment, even briefly and remember a time when her world didn't revolve around Oliver Queen.

Not that she regrets having met him. Being part of Team Arrow is part of who she is now. And they are doing a lot of good. But every once in a while, Felicity wants a moment to just breath. Hanging out with Sara seems to be one way to do so.

Because of this, Felicity does fall into the habit of waiting up for Sara, though she does try to fill that time with things that need to be done, like cleaning her apartment or continuing her investigation of Kevin's disappearance. The first few times, Felicity had tried to tell herself that she wasn't staying awake because of Sara. But Felicity's always been fairly self aware and doesn't believe in lying to herself, so once she admits that she is waiting up for Sara, an odd calm falls over her and she finds ways to be productive around her apartment in order to stay awake.

Sara seems more open about her past than Oliver is. Though she doesn't necessarily answer Felicity's questions, she does share things occasionally and so in turn, Felicity tries to share things as well. It makes her realize that for how close she, Oliver and Dig are, they actually know very little about each other's personal lives. The most is known about Oliver's, past and present, but that's only because they're always having to deal with it. And then, a lot of the time, she kind of wishes she didn't.

Part of Felicity wants to tell Sara what she discovered about Mrs. Queen, even though she knows it's not her secret to share. She wants to tell Diggle too. They're up against much more than just the unknown darkness that lurks in Starling; Mrs. Queen is a force to be reckoned with, causing Felicity to worry about all the secrets she's still keeping and what it'll do to Oliver and even Thea.

**…**

The closer she and Sara become, the more often Felicity feels Sara watching her.

The first time it happens, Felicity tries to ignore the eyes obviously studying her, but eventually she gives in and glances around. Felicity's gaze finally settles on Sara, who is watching her with a soft smile on her face. When their eyes meet, Sara winks and then returns to working out. Felicity isn't expecting the wink and it fills her with a warm glow.

It becomes a regular thing. To the point where if Felicity feels eyes watching her, she doesn't even have to look up, she knows it's Sara watching her. Felicity finds that she doesn't mind, enjoying the flutter in her stomach that only increases when she meets Sara's gaze and receives a wink.

**…**

Felicity tries to follow the money that was stolen from the various charities. She decides to start with the most recent one of $23,000. The trail is easy enough to find, but it turns cold faster than she expected. Incredibly frustrated, she tackles the $30,000 next. But once again, after following the trail's various twists and turns, she loses it. Felicity refuses to be give up; she is smarter than whoever is behind this and she will find them, so she chases the $35,000 next. This one she's able to follow the longest before hitting a wall. 

Leaning back in her chair and staring at the screens, Felicity lets her mind wander instead of screaming in frustration. There's something she's missing, something that her brain is trying to tell her, but she just can't seem to grasp it. Taking a deep breath, she faces the screens again, and instead of trying to follow the money through its various routes and rerouting, tries to sort through what her brain is trying to tell her.

It eventually works and she's picked up the trail again. Apparently she's found it near the end because it doesn't take Felicity long to figure out where the charity money ended up. 

To her horror, it's even worse than she imagined. Though things have started to improve in the Glades, there are still plenty of problems, including people seemingly just disappearing without a trace. Felicity has found where they're disappearing to. 

There's a website, auctioning off people for the sole purpose of killing them. The auctions last for about a week and at any given time there seems to be at least three to six auctions occurring at one time. Looking over the descriptions of people for sale, Felicity finds that almost all of them match the descriptions of people who have been reported missing. What's even more appalling (which considering how close Felicity is to vomiting at this point, is saying a lot) is that once you have won the auction, there is an option to pay even more in relation to how the person dies. The more elaborate the death, the more money it costs; and what's worse is the _very_ vivid descriptions.

It's at this point that Felicity loses it and barely makes it to bathroom. Once she's emptied her stomach, rinsed her mouth and splashed water onto her face, she returns shakily to her computers. Thankfully, she's alone in the basement; it's early on a Sunday and she couldn't really sleep, so she'd come to the Foundry since Sara had actually been sleeping soundly for once. Though she hates being down here alone with what she's found, she's also glad that she doesn't have to explain to anyone what she's just discovered.

Felicity's starting to develop a few theories surrounding Kevin's mysterious job offer and it's not pleasant. And even though she should probably keep looking for more evidence, she doesn't feel mentally stable enough. Instead, she decides to head back to her apartment. She definitely won't be able to sleep, but at least she won't be alone and hopefully, she can find something sufficiently distracting.

Though there's no definitive proof, Felicity's instinct says that whoever is behind the murder website and the missing charity money is also behind the deaths of Kevin, Paul Launders and Dani Johnstone. She's learned to trust her instincts over the last year. Felicity really hopes that her assessment is correct, because, at the moment, she really can't handle the notion that there's so many sick bastards walking around Starling City.

She's going to have to talk to the team soon because the severity of the situation is so much worse than she ever imagined. The only problem is that she really doesn't have a lot to go on yet. She didn't really want to bring it up to the others until she had a definite target. Felicity wonders if she should seek out more evidence or search harder for the person responsible; maybe both. 

God, she really hopes that Sara is up and still in her apartment.

**…**

The more time Sara spends with Felicity, the less time she's spending with Oliver. Oddly, it's not something that occurs to either of them immediately. Probably because they spend so much time together anyway; between training Roy, their own personal training and hooding up (Felicity always grins when she says this, saying that Sara putting on the wig is close enough, despite the irritated looks Sara shoots her), they do spend most of their time together.

But beyond the sex and the shared history of hell, Sara's not sure that there's enough there to sustain a relationship.

She’s at the mat, stretching, watching Oliver shoot arrows at tennis balls. As he hits one ball with two arrows, Sara can’t help but wonder if he’s actually surpassed Nyssa in skill. When they’d been battling for her life, Sara had just assumed that Oliver’s own tenacity made up for Nyssa’s pure skill. And maybe it still does.

Watching him, Sara realizes that what she feels for him isn’t necessarily romantic. She knows too much has happened for it to be anything like what she felt before the Queen’s Gambit went down or even when they met up again the island a year later. But she can’t quite categorize what she feels for him. It makes her wonder if they fell into bed together because it was easy. She knows Oliver struggles with not having someone who understands him. Diggle probably does more than most and while Felicity is immensely understanding and lacking in judgment (to a certain extent), Ollie longs for someone who truly identifies with his struggle. And even though what happened to them after they presumed the other one died changed them in vastly different ways, they’ve somehow managed to find each other again and take up the same cause. Their initial attraction and connection should only have been heightened by the similarities of their pasts.

However, Sara’s not sure she wants that in a relationship anymore. She had that with Nyssa too, to a certain extent; that shared understanding of the darkness being embraced. It helped her deal with the killing and what she’d done to survive. But apparently she wasn’t built for it long term. Returning to Starling City to check up on her family had been a sincere need, but it also masked her larger goal of escaping, even though she knew it would have dire consequences. She’s starting to realize that not only can she no longer handle the killing, she also wants there to be some light in her life.

Being with Ollie is comfortable, but it’s been a long time since she’s done something for that reason and she can’t believe she let herself fall into that trap again. Even if things are better, it’s still dangerous to let herself go down that route.

Sara sighs because she and Oliver are probably going to have to have a serious talk soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I took the idea of auctioning off people to be killed from [_Hostel_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450278/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_1).


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Felicity's scheme is taken from [_Profit_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115323/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_1)

It takes Felicity longer than she'd like to recover from her discovering of the murder auction site. However, the disgust does help her come up with a new plan. Felicity's not sure that she wants to continue searching for the Auctioneer (she really doesn't know how else to refer to him); her stomach doesn't feel up to it. Instead, she decides to try and gain his attention.

Which is why, a few days ago, Felicity decided to set a trap of sorts. Since she fits the profile of hackers that this guy is recruiting, Felicity decides to set up something that will get his attention. (Since hacking into various federal agencies and impenetrable security systems doesn't seem to do it.) 

It takes time; so much so, that she's surprised that no one asks what the hell she's doing. She sets up an untraceable off shore savings account, the type that require the amount of wealth she can't even imagine. Luckily, she know someone with rather large assets. She then "borrows" a small amount of Oliver's trust fund because she's not allowed to open an account without any money before hand. 

Next she finds the five most seemingly corrupt financial and investment firms in Starling City. Sadly, it's more difficult to narrow down the list than it is to find any to begin with. She then hacks into their systems; it's laughable how easy it is. Felicity wonders if the one percent of Starling City just think they're that untouchable, despite the Vigilante going after a lot of them the year before.

At the first firm, Felicity sets up a program that rounds every seventh direct reinvestment from dividends down to the nearest hundredth of a penny. The program rounds the third at the second one and at the third, it rounds every first. At the fourth firm, it's every fifth and at the fifth, it's every second. She then skims off the balance from each and has it transferred and rerouted several times before it ends up in her newly opened, secretive account.

It doesn't end up being any great sum, but over time and with the interest the account is receiving, it would be a sizable sum after ten years and would most likely allow her to retire at forty if she didn't live too extravagantly.

What's most important, is that it's virtually undetectable. You would have to be looking for it to find it or stumble onto it completely by accident. This is the reason that she chose different numbers at each firm; making it seem like five unrelated hackings.

The funny thing is, that if she covered her trail just a little bit better, she really could get away with it and be set for life. If she was that sort of person, that is. Instead, she placed minuscule clues here and there, so the Auctioneer should be able to find her work and eventually track her down. It's why she took her start up money from Oliver's trust fund. It's all part of her larger plan that mirrors too much of her real life. She's working on a more expansive plan for when the Auctioneer (hopefully) contacts her. Felicity knows that she can't go to the others, specifically Oliver, with herself as bait without an air tight plan; and if there's one thing she knows, it's that the best lie is based in the truth.

She's currently looking over everything she set up before heading home. It's only a matter of time before something happens; she can feel it. 

Because of this, she may be a little on edge. At the moment, it's just her and Oliver downstairs. Both Roy and Sara are upstairs working and Dig left a little bit ago. Lately, Oliver has been the last to leave, reluctant to go home. He’s shared a bit with Felicity about his conversation with his mother in relation to Thea’s paternity and so she very much understands why he stays as late as he does.

He’s currently sharpening arrows and she’s idly staring at him, slightly hunched over when she realizes that her feelings for him aren’t as strong as they used to be. 

Because of Sara. Because she's falling for Sara.

This realization hits her like a bō to the face, causing her to let out a choked gasp.

It’s loud enough to draw Oliver’s attention away from his arrow sharpening. He gives her an inquiring look, but not ready to talk about it (especially with Oliver), she waves off his concern, hoping he’ll think her problem is work related.

He doesn’t say anything, continuing to stare, waiting for her to speak, but after another long moment of silence (or as much silence that there can be when you're in the basement of a club), he returns to his arrows.

Since Felicity isn't really known for being laconic, he must assume that she'll be discussing her issue eventually.

And honestly, there’s part of her that wishes she could; no matter what else happens between them, he’s become one of her closest friends. But considering his reaction to Barry’s interest, Felicity’s fairly certain that discussing her feeling for his girlfriend would not go over well.

However, Felicity also knows that she has to talk to someone about it or she'll explode. So she quietly finishes looking over everything and finding nothing to be worried about yet, bids Oliver good night. He watches her go with a curious look on his face. Feeling his concerned stare makes her afraid that he's going to voice his concern out loud, so she scurries out, full of tension, knowing that this issue will have to be dealt with before she sees him again.

Which is how she finds herself standing outside Diggle’s apartment.

It’s been a while since she’s been here, not since she tried to convince him to come back to the team, pre quake. Even while Oliver was on the island, the second time, they continued to meet at the Foundry. He’s never been to her apartment either. It’s their unspoken way to help them keep some small part of their lives separate. (Felicity feels a bit bad that the same can’t be said for Oliver.)

But now she desperately needs to talk to someone. And normally, she’d just ask him if he could stop by her place, but with Sara crashing there every night, Felicity can’t risk being overheard by the object of her affection.

As she knocks, Felicity just prays she’s not interrupting anything.

It’s not often that Diggle lets anyone see his surprise, so Felicity knows he really must be shocked to see her. She probably should have called first, but she hadn’t even realized where she was heading until she arrived.

She feels bad just showing up like this. She and Diggle became closer over the summer, the two of them working together, trying to find Oliver and repair the basement. But with Sara spending most of her nights in Felicity’s apartment, she worries that a bit of their bond has disappeared; even if she knows that he’s been spending a lot more of his free time with Lyla.

The fact that Felicity just mentally compared her relationship with Sara to Diggle’s with his ex wife does not escape her notice.

“Felicity,” he greets, his tone dry, yet concerned. “To what do I owe such a late night visit?”

“I’m sorry for just dropping by,” she apologizes. “I know I should have called first.”

He steps aside and invites her in. “Should I be worried?” he asks, as he gestures towards the couch.

Felicity shakes her head as she sits. “Maybe? Though it's nothing... work related, exactly.”

He chuckles as he sits next to her. “I take it that this is something you can’t discuss with either of the wonder twins?”

She nods, thankful that he seems to understand part of her dilemma. “I am so sorry for just showing up like this. I know we don’t hang out as much as we used to. And it probably seems like I’m just ta—”

“Felicity,” he interrupts. “It’s fine. We spend like nineteen hours a day together as it is, we don't need to hang also. It really is okay.”

She smiles. “Thanks.”

“So what’s up?”

“I’m conflicted,” she tells him.

“About?”

Feeling a bit silly and anxious about just showing up, Felicity jumps up. "As I'm sure you've noticed," she starts as she begins to pace. "I have strong feelings for Oliver. Not that I don't have strong feelings for you, Dig. Because I do. Have strong feelings. For you. They're just more brother sister like. Whereas my feelings for Oliver are more romantic."

"I have indeed noticed," Diggle grins.

"What am I saying?" Felicity grouses. "Of course you've noticed. Everyone's noticed. Even Oliver's mother has noticed."

"And how exactly did _that_ topic come up?" Diggle questions.

Felicity stops and tries not to look like a deer caught in headlights, but she's pretty sure she's not successful. "That's not important." She resumes her pacing. "My point is that in the past, I've had romantic feelings for Oliver."

"Why do I have a feeling that there's a lot more to that story then—" Diggle pauses. "Wait a minute. In the past?"

Felicity stops pacing again and faces Diggle. "Currently, I seem to have strong romantic feelings for Sara."

He stares at her. "Huh. I can honestly say that I didn't see that coming."

Normally Felicity appreciates his nonchalance. It balances out her crazy intensity. But that isn't what she was looking for when she came here.

"That isn't very helpful, Dig."

"I'm not sure what you want me to say, Felicity," he replies. "Are you looking for acceptance or absolution?"

Felicity sinks back onto the couch. "I'm not sure exactly. I just... I know I have to figure things out before I see Oliver again."

"What about Sara?" Diggle asks. "Isn't she still staying with you?"

She sinks further into the couch with a groan. "Yes."

Diggle chuckles. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to laugh. It's just... you apparently got over your feelings for one mask only to have it replaced with your feelings for another. Maybe you have a type."

"Oh god," Felicity whimpers. "Does that mean I'm going to start crushing on Roy next?"

Now Diggle is outright laughing. "Well technically, he only wears a hood, not a mask. So you're probably safe for a while."

Eyes now closed, Felicity replies, "A small comfort."

"Felicity," Diggle says quietly. "It'll be okay."

"I don't see how," Felicity retorts.

"You can't help who you fall for," he tells her. "Plus you and Sara do seem to get along well."

"I guess."

"Felicity," he says. "Look at me. Please."

Felicity slowly opens her eyes.

"What's really bothering you about this?"

She sighs. "I'm worried that I'm just transferring my affection to someone a little more open to them," she explains. "That I'm using Sara as a substitute for Oliver."

"Or maybe you've found someone a little more receptive and actually willing to give things a chance. You two definitely have chemistry."

"How do you know that she's willing?" Felicity questions. "I only just realized my feelings a couple hours ago."

"You do realize that way she looks at you, right?" Diggle counters.

"I... yes."

"Well there you go."

"But she and Oliver are... together," Felicity argues.

"So?" Diggle retorts. "Tell her how you feel. Let her make the choice. Just don't let anything happen between the two of your until after she ends things. There's too much of that already in their history."

"You sound very certain that she would," Felicity says.

"Once again, have you seen the way she looks at you?"

"It's actually the winking that has me wondering," she replies.

"And yet you're questioning her feelings towards you," Diggle wonders. "Maybe you're not as smart as you claim to be."

" _Hey_."

He grins at her. "Do you want to sleep here tonight? Approach it fresh in the morning?"

"I appreciate the offer, Dig," she smiles. "But why put off the inevitable?" She stands. "Besides, I think I've already figured this out."

"You're sure?" he asks, standing.

"I am," Felicity nods. "But thank you."

He walks her to the door. "At least let me walk you to your car."

Felicity agrees after a moment of hesitation; in hindsight, it probably was pretty crazy to come here at this hour.

"Thanks for the advice," she tells him as they walk down the stairs. "I would have gone crazy, letting it all run around in my brain."

He grins. "My pleasure. If it's one thing I understand, it's Oliver's ability to drive those around him crazy."

"That's not what I meant and you know it," she retorts, bumping him with her hip.

They're quiet until they reach her car.

"Good luck," he says, before closing her door.

She nods and drives away, watching him watch her drive away in her rearview mirror.

**…**

Of course, this is one of the few nights that Sara decides to crash at Detective Lance's apartment instead of with Felicity. She's dozing on the couch when she receives the text and her sleep addled brain wonders if maybe she's read Sara wrong.

In the morning, she's rushing off to Queen Consolidated, not having the time to worry about it. Therefore, when she sees Oliver at the office, it's almost like a wave of cold washing over her. While Felicity may still love Oliver, it's really not the same; she's fallen for Sara. That realization must show, even if people don't comprehend what exactly has changed in her. Isabel Rochev actually stops and stares at her for nearly a minute (to the point that it's a thousand times more awkward than usual between them) before entering Oliver's office. Diggle, of course, knows and just smirks at Felicity, making it a bit difficult for her to focus on looking over Oliver's schedule for the day.

Thankfully, it's a busy day and Felicity doesn't have much time to dwell on her changing feelings. It's nearly four in the afternoon before she even realizes it. And this is only because Sara is suddenly standing in front of her.

"He's a little busy at the moment. International phone call," Felicity tells her. "If you want to wait."

"Actually," Sara says. "I'm here to see you."

"Me?"

Sara nods. "I was hoping I could take you to dinner."

"Um..." Felicity goes through her mental checklist and realizes that she could probably leave soon. "I think that would be okay."

Grinning, Sara asks, "Want me to talk to your boss for you?"

"No need," Oliver says, suddenly next to Sara.

Used to both of them just silently appearing, Felicity just rolls her eyes. "Do you need me to—"

Oliver shakes his head before turning to Sara. "What brings you by?"

"I was hoping to take your assistant to dinner," Sara replies. "Mind letting her off a little early?"

Felicity really doesn't understand the staring contest that's happening between them. She continues working because it's the easiest way to avoid getting involved. Her attention is pulled away by Oliver telling her it's fine.

"Thanks boss," she teases, standing. "Don't stay too long."

"I just have one more call to make," he tells her.

"I can—"

"Felicity," he says. "It's fine. Go. Have dinner. You deserve it."

She nods and shuts everything down before following a smirking Sara out of the office. Neither of them speak until they're outside of Queen Consolidated.

"Mind if I pick?" Sara asks.

Felicity doesn't, still super curious about the dinner invitation, because while she and Sara have eaten together plenty over the past few months, it's almost always been take out, and never felt so formal, so she shakes her head.

Sara chuckles, almost as if she can hear the rambling that Felicity's doing in her head.

They end up at a nice little Italian place around the corner. It feels a lot like a date to Felicity and she wonders if it's because of her recently realized feelings.

Felicity manages to wait until the waiter has taken their order before she asks, "What was up with the tension between you and Oliver earlier?"

"Oh, we... I guess you could say we broke up."

"You, uh, don't seem that upset," Felicity ventures.

"I'm honestly not sure how I feel," Sara replies. "I mean, you and I spend more time together than Ollie and I do."

"Well, that's because you're staying with me," Felicity points out.

"Maybe," Sara agrees. "But I don't think that's the reason."

Felicity is at a loss. Part of her worries that Sara is being stoic, that the break up is bothering her more than she's willing to admit. But then another part of her knows that Sara has been more open with her than she's been with anyone since she got back, even Oliver.

"May I be completely honest with you?" Sara asks.

"Always."

"I think that Oliver and I... being together... I think it was about the wrong things," Sara explains. "That maybe the reason it happened is because it was easy. We have history, we love each other, we both... have done horrible things to survive."

"You have a lot in common," Felicity agrees.

"Maybe too much," Sara replies. "Which is why we ended things."

"I..."

"Last night, actually," Sara continues. "That's where was I was last night. I did end up crashing at my dad's after, but it was almost dawn by then."

"Oh." Felicity doesn't know what to say. "So should we go out and get drunk tonight?"

"Why?" Sara questions.

"To mourn the death of your relationship," Felicity answers.

"I thought I didn't seem that upset," Sara replies.

"You don't," Felicity agrees. "But isn't that, like standard?"

"Are you calling me standard?" Sara asks.

"What? No. Of course not," Felicity protests. "I just... you're my friend and I care about you and usually when a person breaks up with their boyfriend, there's sadness and drinking and I just want to be there for you, because I care and I don't want you to feel alone or anything, especially now that you and Oliver are ov—" Seeing the grin on Sara's face, halts Felicity's rambling. "Why are you smiling?"

"Because you're cute."

Not wanting to be told she's being even cuter, Felicity doesn't respond.

"I have a better idea," Sara says.

"All right."

"You let me take you to dinner tomorrow," Sara offers.

"But we're already having dinner together now," Felicity points out.

"Are you implying that you can only eat one meal a week with me?" Sara asks.

"Well, no, of course not," Felicity replies. "I guess I just don't understand. Is this because you and Oliver broke up?"

"Yes," Sara agrees. "But also because I want to take you on a date."

"Oh." Even though she's speechless, Felicity's brain is going a mile a minute. Part of her can't believe that Sara might return her feelings, feelings that Felicity just realized the other day. Even with the winking and flirting and showing off, it still feels unbelievable. And then there's Oliver; Felicity hasn't really sorted through how her feelings for Sara relate to her feelings about Oliver. Either way, Diggle is definitely going to have a field day with this—

"Is that a no then?" Sara asks, looking nervous.

"Yes," Felicity replies.

Sara actually looks heartbroken as she questions, "Yes, it's a no?"

"Yes, I'll go out with you," Felicity explains.

Sara grins.

"On one condition," Felicity continues, feeling bold.

"Okay..."

"We consider it our second date," Felicity says. "I mean, since we seem to be on our first right now."

Sara's relieved grin is exactly the answer Felicity was looking for.

**…**

It's a well known fact that Felicity isn't comfortable with heights. So when Sara tells her that her plan for their date involves facing that fear for a moment or two and that she can come up with something else if Felicity would prefer, Felicity feels herself falling for Sara a little bit more. The nervous energy Sara seems to be giving off (which seems to be only a recent thing and only when it's just the two of them, making Felicity wonder if it's because of her and whatever is developing between them), tells Felicity that this is important to Sara and so she tells Sara that as long as she's there to protect her, Felicity isn't worried.

Sara smiles softly. "You know I will be. Though you're getting pretty good at protecting yourself."

Felicity accepts the compliment by taking Sara's hand and letting herself be led down the street. As they walk, Felicity comes up with a dozen different ideas of where Sara's going to take her, but she's still surprised when they end up in an abandoned clock tower.

"This is where I was staying those first few weeks," Sara explains. "You can see the whole city from here."

"Homey," Felicity replies, trying to take everything in. "I take it you took all your knickknacks with you when you left."

Sara grins.

"Though there seem to be a lot of ways to get in here," Felicity continues. "You weren't worried?"

Sara seems impressed with this observation as she nods. "Well, there's really just the stairs. Unless you're a highly trained assassin... or Oliver, I wasn't concerned about too many people finding me. I did have a few traps set up for the league, and I was almost always ready for an attack. But Sin was really the only one who knew I was up here. Even when Roy came looking for me, I doubt he realized this was where I was staying." 

"I think he was more concerned about getting answers for the Vigilante," Felicity replies as she continues to circle the space. 

"I wish I'd been there to see his face when Ollie pulled off his hood."

Felicity nods. "Never meet your heroes."

Sara looks at her questioningly. Not wanting to talk about Barry while on a date with Sara, Felicity says, "It's a long story."

Obviously sensing Felicity's reluctance, Sara nods. "Another time."

**…**

They end up back at Felicity's apartment with take out after Sara shows Felicity her old hideout. Sara made a few suggestions once they left the abandoned clocked tower, but Felicity had instead suggested that they eat take out on her couch. Sara's secretly relieved because she's not exactly flush with cash yet and most of her suggestions hadn't been cheap. Though in a lot of ways, she and Felicity have already been dating for a while. It's probably part of the reason that she always felt like she was cheating on Felicity when she was with Oliver and cheating on Oliver when she fell asleep next to Felicity.

Plus Sara knows that she doesn't have try to impress Felicity; which is good since she's never going to be able to compete against Ollie in terms of money. What matters now is intent. While both Oliver and Sara have strong feelings for Felicity, Sara is the only one willing to make a move. Oliver might not feel like he's in a good position to be with Felicity, but Sara knows that happiness can be scarce and she's not going to pass up the opportunity for love.

Besides, she let Oliver know about her intentions towards Felicity when things ended between them. 

The conversation had been awkward enough without Sara bringing up the topic of Felicity, but she'd already been as honest as possible with him about her feelings. And because they're almost too similar about a lot of things, he had understood where she was coming from. But what really confirmed that it was the right choice for them was his reaction. While he did at first disagree and question the decision, it didn't seem to incite the passionate plea that she knows he's (still) capable of. Which is also why she decided it was okay to approach the subject of Felicity.

It had taken a lot of pushing on her part, but eventually she got him to admit that he had feelings for Felicity beyond friendship. He'd been more surprised than he should have been when she admitted feeling similar. He recovered quickly, but had then immediately stated that he couldn't pursue anything with her. It just wasn't safe or fair. Sara scoffed at that because unless he gave up his bow, it probably never would be; which he didn't deny.

"Then you won't mind if I ask her out," she'd told him.

He had replied that he didn't and part of Sara wonders if it's because he didn't think that Felicity would say yes. He's in for a big surprise, she thinks.

So now as Felicity pulls her into the bedroom, both their clothes being removed hurriedly, Sara just hopes that Oliver doesn't react too badly when he finds out; at least for Felicity's sake. She's heard stories from Diggle about Oliver's reaction to Barry Allen. Oh well, watching Felicity verbally tear into Oliver sounds like a fun show.

And then a very naked Felicity pushes Sara onto the bed and worrying about Oliver's feelings is the last thing on her mind.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As someone who hates cliffhangers, I apologize for how this part ends.

Dating Sara doesn't really change their relationship much, except that Felicity doesn't feel embarrassed about ogling Sara when she's working out. And now when they're watching something and curled up together on the couch, there's a lot less distance and a lot more kissing.

The realization makes her feel like she's in one of those romantic comedies with the two best friends realizing they're in love with each other and that's why all the other boyfriends and girlfriends never worked out. Even though that's obviously not the case for her and Sara, Felicity does acknowledge that lately the spending time with Sara late at night on the couch is one of her favorite things to do.

**…**

It occurs to her, as she watches Oliver and Diggle spar that the reason for the staring contest between Oliver and Sara the other day is probably because he knew why Sara wanted to talk to her. God, their break up discussion must have been immensely awkward.

Deciding it's best to keep her mind away from that topic, Felicity decides to check on how her (hopefully) attention grabbing investment is doing. Logging in, she finds it's growing slowly but surely. Seeing this, she checks to see if anyone's found her trail yet. There are no definites, just a few possibilities, which she finds reassuring; anything too obvious would either be a trap or some other random hacker. This guy obviously only picks the best hackers.

"Anything interesting?"

Diggle's presence surprises her and Felicity fights the urge to close everything down. She doesn't want to seem too suspicious. She still doesn't have enough to go on yet.

"Could be," she replies. "Depends."

He nods. "You doing all right?"

"Better than all right," Felicity replies.

"You've been avoiding being alone with Oliver ever since... we talked," he points out.

"I know," Felicity sighs.

"At least tell me that you've talked to Sara," he says.

The smile spreads across her face before she can stop it, but it's obviously enough to answer Diggle's question.

He grins in response. "And?"

"I don't kiss and tell," Felicity smirks.

"Please tell me that they br—"

Worried about Oliver hearing their conversation, Felicity nods before Diggle can finish his question.

"Well, then I guess that explains the extra sparring," Diggle says.

Felicity nods. "He and I probably need to talk, though."

"You don't owe him an explanation, Felicity," Diggle replies. "You've made your feelings known."

"Not intentionally," Felicity retorts.

"Unintentional or not," Diggle continues. "He's the one that did nothing. You deserve to be happy."

"I couldn't agree more," Oliver says, walking over to them, showered and back in a suit.

"I'm going to go change, then," Diggle says. "And let you two... chat."

"We should talk," Oliver says.

Felicity agrees, but not knowing which direction the conversation will go, she can only nod apprehensively.

Seeing this Oliver says, "I'm not mad at you Felicity."

"Not that you have any right to be," she retorts. "And that's not what I'm worried about."

"What are you worried about?"

"I don't want things to be weird between u," Felicity replies. "Things have been changing a lot around here lately, but it's all still been good."

"I agree," Oliver nods. "Nothing needs to change."

"So Sara and I being together..."

Oliver sighs. "You'll always be my girl, Felicity."

"Yeah?"

"You're my partner, that won't ever change, I promise," he says. "I just... I wish I could be who you need me to be."

"I only need you to be you, Oliver," Felicity replies. "We're a team. As long as we remember that, we'll be okay."

"I kind of love you Felicity Smoak," he grins.

"Well, I kind of love you, Oliver Queen."

"Congratulations, you're both very loveable," Diggle retorts as he returns. "But now that we've got that figured out, shouldn't we be heading back to the office?"

Felicity nods as she stands and the three of them head back to Queen Consolidated. 

**…**

The email comes a few days later. The fact that it matches the email that Kevin received word for word is amusing to Felicity. She wonders if there's an evil mastermind form letter website. Maybe she should start one; of course that would probably imply that she actually approves of what they're doing. Plus, do people really send letters anymore? Emails even? Actually, how are criminals recruited? Want ads? Do criminals network?

The clank of the salmon ladder draws Felicity out of her rambling thoughts. She looks up to find Sara using it, a determined, but teasing grin on her face. 

Dating Sara has a lot of perks, but what Felicity has been enjoying the most is the open invitation to ogle. In fact, her girlfriend (and being able to call her that leaves Felicity feeling a bit giddy) seems to enjoy distracting Felicity as much as possible while she's working out. Admittedly, Felicity has always been watching, but nowadays, Sara seems to be making it her goal to grab Felicity's attention. Or maybe she just wants Felicity to stare at Oliver less.

Felicity watches for a few moments before shaking herself out of her Sara induced stupor and return her attention to her computers.

The arrival of the email means two things. One, that she has another way to try and track the Auctioneer. And two, that she no longer has an excuse to keep this a secret. And so that evening, she explains the situation to the team. She feels a bit of disappointment from Oliver that she didn't share this earlier; and even though she'd been expecting that reaction, it still stings a bit.

"Don't be like that, Ollie," Sara tells him. "There's enough evil out there to go after without chasing ghosts. Felicity didn't want to send us on a wild goose chase."

Felicity catches Diggle smiling at Sara's defense in her peripheral and tries not to react, instead she continues to meet Oliver's steady gaze.

"Sara's right," Diggle says, face suddenly devoid of his teasing grin. "Felicity was just trying to put all the pieces together. Even now, we don't have the full picture. Now the five of us can figure it out."

"Yeah man," Roy adds. "Plus, knowing Felicity, she has a plan."

Roy's statement pulls Oliver's attention to him instead, simultaneously with Sara and Diggle. Felicity tries not to giggle at the synchronized movement. (As the newest member of the team, Roy's still trying to figure out his place, but Felicity has to hand it to him, he holds his own for the most part. Especially under the threat of arrows and Oliver's almost constant glowering at him.)

He looks a bit embarrassed; apparently he hadn't planned on receiving all the focus. "Uh, right?" He turns to Felicity with a pleading look.

The others train their gazes on her again and she nods. "I do indeed, Roy."

He lets out a sigh of relief.

"Like I said, he emailed me today," Felicity starts, holding up her hand to stop Oliver's question. "Because I might of done something to gain his attention."

"Felicity," Oliver growls.

" _Some_ thing?" Sara questions.

Felicity nods, but doesn't explain. "I've been trying to find him for a while now with no results. It was the only other way I could think of. I'm going to meet with him, get some questions answered and then we can plan our next move."

"No," Sara says.

"Absolutely not," Oliver adds.

Felicity holds back an angry retort when she sees Diggle sigh at them both.

"Are you sure that's safe, Felicity?" he asks.

She shakes her head. "I'm almost certain that it's not."

This does not relax Oliver. "Then why would yo—"

"I won't be meeting him alone," Felicity tells them. "I told you guys I had a plan."

"All right," Oliver says, crossing his arms. "So who's going with you?"

"Roy."

"Uh, what?" Of all of them, Roy is the most flabbergasted.

Felicity nods. "It makes the most sense. There's no way that Oliver Queen would go with his assistant, nor would said assistant ask her employer to accompany her to do something illegal. And for those reasons, Dig is out of the question of well."

"The two of us being friends is hardly out of the question," Diggle points out.

"It would be too big of risk for both of us," Felicity replies. "I just don't think it's believable that I would ask you to be involved with something like this."

"So what's your excuse for me?" Sara asks, looking just as cross as Oliver.

"No offense," Felicity says. "But you're not that scary."

" _Hey_."

Felicity grins. "You know what I mean."

"So why me?" Roy ask, voicing the real question they're all thinking.

"Simple," Felicity replies. "Oliver is my boss. Because of this, I spend a decent amount of time around his family, such as Thea. You are Thea's boyfriend, therefore I've spent time around you as well. And maybe we've become friendly. So if I was really in this situation, I wouldn't want to meet some strange guy by myself, so I'd ask you to act like my bodyguard or whatever. Because you obvious know how to fight."

"Or take a punch," Oliver grumbles.

"I have one question though," Roy says. "Why would I agree to be involved in something both illegal and dangerous?" 

"That is the one thing that I don't have a good answer for," Felicity admits.

"Oh. Okay."

"Okay?" Felicity questions.

Roy nods.

"Why are you suddenly okay with it?" Diggle asks.

"Because."

"Because why?" Oliver growls.

Roy sighs. "Because she didn't call me a delinquent."

"So if she did, then you'd refuse?" Diggle asks, grinning. "Because that's not how we do things in Team Arrow."

Felicity giggles as Oliver practically growls at him.

Oliver's supportive reaction to the relationship between Felicity and Sara has caused Diggle to verbally poke Oliver a lot more lately. (Which Felicity really doesn't understand, but agrees that it's their job to keep Oliver grounded.) Felicity knows she should probably try to hide her mirth when it happens, but Oliver growling at a gleeful Diggle is just too amusing. 

"I have to ask one question, though," Diggle says.

"Okay."

"Why?"

"That is one question," Sara says, wryly.

"Why what?" Felicity questions.

"Why are we going after this guy?" Diggle asks. "Or maybe I should ask, how did you stumble onto this?"

"I may or may not have been pointed in his direction by someone," Felicity replies.

"Someone?"

"An ex boyfriend, Trevor Mitchell," Felicity tells them. "He called me a few weeks ago, worried because his current boyfriend has disappeared without a trace and the police weren't doing anything."

"So he called you?" Sara questions.

Felicity nods. "Kevin is, was, a computer programmer who liked to hack in his free time. Because of this he got an offer to make some money on the side as long as he doesn't mind breaking the law a bit. For some crazy reason, he agreed to meet with this guy. I think he passed the first couple tests, but eventually failed and was killed because he knew too much."

"You think?" Oliver asks.

"I found his body in the morgue. He's still unidentified according to the M.E., but I'm pretty sure it's him. And I've also found a missing person report for an IT tech with a lot of debt and another for someone with a ton of red flags for hacking and even more debt." Felicity sighs. "Look, I know this doesn't seem like the sort of thing we... take care of, but I promised Trevor that I'd look into it and I feel like the least I can do is try and get justice for Kevin and the others."

Diggle is studying her; he obviously knows that she's not telling them everything, but he stays quiet.

"Of course, we're doing this," Sara tells her. "Right, Ollie?"

"Right," he replies. "So what's the plan?"

**…**

"Nothing's going to happen on the first meeting," Felicity tells Sara before she and Roy head out. "Unless he gets too suspicious."

Sara does not find this reassuring. "What if he finds your ear piece?" Sara asks. "Or Roy's?"

"I tell him that I'm recording everything as another way to protect myself. As long as you guys stay quiet like you promised, it'll be fine."

Sara, Diggle and Oliver leave first and get into position, so they're ready when Felicity and Roy arrive. Sara watches Felicity pull up in her Mini Cooper. Felicity and Roy climb out cautiously, both taking in their surroundings.

"You ready?" Felicity mutters to a nervous looking Roy.

He takes a deep breath and nods.

Felicity nods in return and heads inside, with Roy following close behind.

Sara listens as Felicity is directed to Adrian Gracen's table. The sound of chair legs scraping against the floor tell Sara that he has stood to greet them.

"Mr. Gracen?" Felicity questions.

"Ms. Smoak," he greets. "And Mr. Harper. Well this is certainly a pleasant surprise."

The fact that he knows exactly who Roy is increases Sara's anxiety, though Gracen's genuine surprise that Felicity brought someone with her is reassuring. But his delight at the revelation is not comforting.

"Please have a seat," he tells them. "And please call me Adrian."

Sara hears two chairs being pulled out as Felicity and Roy sit down.

"Can I get you two anything?"

"No thank you," Felicity replies.

"Mr. Harper?"

"I'm fine," Roy says, curtly.

"I must admit," Gracen says. "That I did not expect the escort, Ms. Smoak. I'm quite impressed. Finally someone who seems to fully understand what they're getting into." He chuckles darkly. "How refreshing."

"Thank you."

"You don't seem all that shocked that I know your bodyguard's name, Ms. Smoak," Gracen observes.

He makes a good point, Sara thinks.

"You wouldn't have approached me without doing thorough research," Felicity replies.

It's something that Sara didn't completely consider.

"And I assume that you did yours as well," he continues.

"A bit."

Gracen chuckles again. It's becoming Sara's least favorite sound. 

"And yet you're still here," he says.

"Are you implying that I shouldn't be?" Felicity questions.

"You're the executive assistant for Oliver Queen," Gracen replies. "Money shouldn't be a concern for you."

"The unwilling assistant," Felicity retorts.

"Oh?"

Sara can't tell if his curiosity is feigned or not. She hopes Felicity can.

"I was plucked out of the IT department solely because Mr. Queen wanted someone who wasn't tied to his mother or step father's... tenure."

"Understandable on his part," Gracen comments.

"I did not go to M.I.T. to spend my days fetching coffee for Oliver freaking Queen," Felicity snaps.

Sara is impressed with the story that Felicity is spinning and her ability to commit to it. She hopes that Roy is keeping his reactions to a minimum.

"I see," Gracen says. "And yet you're not embezzling from Queen Consolidated."

"Of course not," Felicity replies. "It would be too dangerous. The fact that you found my... retirement fund means that it's noticeable. Which also means I have to end it. Your offer allows me to stop and still have plenty... financial possibilities."

"My offer is a bit more dangerous though," he points out.

"Like any investment, the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward," Felicity counters.

"You really are a delightful revelation, Ms. Smoak." 

Sara can practically hear his smirk through her ear piece. She barely holds back a growl.

"Thank you," Felicity replies. "Does this mean that we can stop with all the posturing?"

"I'm not posturing," Gracen protests.

"Small talk then," Felicity says. "Whatever you want to call it."

There's a heavy pause that increases Sara's trepidation. 

"You aren't known as the... silent type, Ms. Smoak," he says finally.

"So my loquaciousness means that I'm a fan of excessive chit chat?" Felicity asks.

"You just continue to amaze me, Ms. Smoak," her replies. "Color me intrigued."

Felicity sighs. "I already deal with too many overblown egos on a daily basis. If you don't want to talk specifics, then I think it's time for us to leave."

Gracen chuckles coldly. "Oh, Ms. Smoak, while I am enjoying your moxie, I think maybe you need to be reminded who's in charge here."

Sara's heart actually stops for a moment at the pure malice in his voice. Felicity may trust Roy to have her back in there, but for whatever reason, Sara doubts that he'll be enough to prevent whatever Gracen has planned. She just hopes that she and Oliver will be enough.

Unfortunately, Felicity made both her and Oliver swear that they wouldn't burst in until they heard the signal or things were beyond dire, so she can only sit and wait, fighting her anxiety.


	6. Chapter 6

The bar is nearly empty; which makes Felicity even more cautious. Though she couldn't find any documentation, she's confident that Adrian Gracen owns the bar they're in. This also means that they're probably completely surrounded and if anything goes wrong, the only thing they have in their favor is that Oliver and Sara both know how to make an entrance.

For reasons she can't explain, Felicity had been expecting Adrian Gracen to be older, like fifty, but he appears to be in his mid thirties at most. She's now especially glad that she brought Roy with. Besides the obvious reasons of safety, there's having a witness to the intense looks of fascination he is giving her; as if she's a intriguing puzzle he can't wait to solve or a precious piece of artwork he _must_ possess.

And Roy seems to agree with this assessment because he's edging closer and closer to Felicity as the conversation continues. (Both Oliver and Sara may have implied a painful death for him would be the result of anything happening to her, which Felicity thinks is a bit unfair.)

Felicity can also very clearly make out the growls of displeasure coming from both Sara and Oliver at Adrian's blatant and creepy interest in her. Diggle has always been the calm, silent one, especially on the coms, so she at least has that comfortable expectation to help keep herself relaxed.

She knows the others' concerns are growing as the conversation continues, but she was able to figure out a few things about Adrian Gracen (though she's still completely not sure if that's his real name or not) and so nothing that has been stated is shocking to her. However, she is worried about one of her masked teammates rushing in, so she tries to move things along as she recognizes that Adrian could drag this face to face on infinitely. Though, there is the nagging question of _why_ he would want to Is it simple ego or is it for more calculating reasons?

"You aren't known as the... silent type, Ms. Smoak," Adrian responses. He almost sounds... hurt.

Felicity doesn't buy his act. "So my loquaciousness means that I'm a fan of excessive chit chat?"

He seems immensely pleased with her reply. "You just continue to amaze me, Ms. Smoak. Color me intrigued."

Knowing she can't back down, Felicity rolls her eyes at him. "I already deal with too many overblown egos on a daily basis." She gestures to Roy that it's time to go. "If you don't want to talk specifics, then I think it's time for us to leave."

However, Adrian's tone is enough to make them both pause. "Oh, Ms. Smoak, while I am enjoying your moxie, I think maybe you need to be reminded who's in charge here."

"I've faced off with far scarier people than you, Mr. Gracen," Felicity tells him, thinking of Mrs. Queen, trying to ignore the curiosity she can feel coming from Roy. "So once again, unless you have something useful to say, we will be leaving." Felicity stands. "Let's go Roy."

"If you sit back down Ms. Smoak," Adrian says. "I will explain my... _posturing_ , as you called in."

Despite Felicity's instincts screaming at her to run far, far away from this man, she sits back down. Roy does as well, though it is obvious that he disagrees with her decision.

"While I do believe you have all the... qualifications I'm looking for, I do have one major concern, Ms. Smoak," he explains.

"And what would that be?" Felicity asks.

"I fear that you do not have the fortitude to execute what I desire," he explains.

"I'm not as innocent as I seem," she retorts.

"Of that I have no doubt," Adrian replies. "But what I require is not for the faint of heart."

The tension radiating off of Roy increases tenfold at that statement.

"I did my research," she reminds him. 

"You may have found one or two of my projects," he agrees. "But did you find them all?"

For the first time, Felicity is caught off guard. "All?"

He smirks, obviously enjoying the fact that he now has the upper hand. "Which of my investments did you find, Ms. Smoak? I am extremely curious."

Felicity swallows and tries to control her voice. "The auction site."

"Ah, yes, the one that supplements everything else," he replies. "It was my first. I use the profits to invest in other similar projects."

"Then why would you steal from those charities?" Felicity can't help but ask. "You obviously don't need the money. Your auction site is doing disgustingly well."

"It's a test Ms. Smoak," he replies. "The first of three. If someone is okay stealing from a charity that helps children with cancer or crippled animals, then we move onto something a little bit more personal and a lot more difficult. Perhaps taking vicious, cruel revenge on an ex or estranged family member; someone you're no longer close to, but wish no ill will. If they're able to pull that off, then I have them take someone's life; they don't necessarily have to pull a trigger or thrust a knife blade, but it's still murder and it is _solely_ their doing. It's the only way I know for sure that they'll be able to handle _everything_ I require of them." He grins. "So far, no one's passed all three. Unfortunately, that means I have to _terminate_ their contract at that point."

This times it's Roy who growls, which just makes Adrian grin wider.

"You'll have to let Trevor know that his dear boy, Kevin was barely able to pull off the first one. Which made the second task an insurmountable challenge for him. A shame really; such a waste of potential. Still, I never drag it out, Ms. Smoak." He leans in closer as if he's sharing a secret. "While I do not have a problem with torture, I find I have no real need for it. Certainly in this case, it would have been a waste of my time. And I do not enjoy wasting my time."

The amount of fear that settles over Felicity is nearly paralyzing, but she tries to remain calm outwardly. "Then perhaps you are correct," she tells him. "I'm not the person you need. Because I will never agree to murder someone for you."

"I am sorry to hear that Ms. Smoak," he says. "Even though I presumed as much, I was so hoping that I could convince you otherwise."

Felicity meets his knowing, calculating gaze and realizes that she walked right into his trap. "Or you realized that I was looking for you and wanted to eliminate me."

"Honestly," he chuckles, and it's a terrifying sound. "It's a little of both. A man can dream, can't he?"

Off of Felicity's nod to him, Roy coughs three times, signaling to the others to come in.

"It's just too bad about poor Kevin," he adds. "Trevor will spend the rest of his life, never quite knowing. So sad, really."

"I have no intention of that happening," Felicity says, trying to stay calm as she stands. "So we should be going. I'm sure you understand."

And just like that, there are two large men with guns flanking them.

"I do indeed, Ms. Smoak," he replies. "Just as I hope you'll understand that I can't let you." He turns to Roy. "I do apologize, Mr. Harper. It's nothing personal." He nods at the two men and they raise their guns.

Thankfully, the kicking in of the door stops them from pulling the trigger. Felicity's never been more appreciative of how Sara and Oliver work as a team as they force their way into the room, fighting the men that rush over to stop them.

Not that she and Roy are exactly being passive. Sara and Oliver's training has made Roy much more able to control his strength as he takes out the two distracted gun men. Felicity manages to get a few good punches in at Adrian as he tries to grab her. For only the second time this evening, she sees genuine surprise on his face and she tries to ignore the small bit of triumphant she feels as she attempts to do real damage to him. Because she's pretty sure for all his cunning and cruelty, he doesn't know how to fight.

Of course, he does have a gun hidden on his person which he whips out and aims at her head.

"It seems we have truly underestimated each other Ms. Smoak," he says. "A shame really, because I truly do believe that we could have—"

A small dagger suddenly piercing his hand stops his monologue. Seeing the opening, Felicity tugs on the momentarily still Roy and they quickly retreat behind Sara and Oliver before rushing out with the two of them just steps behind them.

**…**

Everyone made it out relatively unscathed, but Oliver is obviously fuming. He is so furious that he can't even seem to form a proper sentence, instead he just paces.

Sara, though also noticeably agitated, is unwilling to let go of Felicity as if she still can't believe they all escaped intact. Felicity is currently leaning back against her with Sara's arms wrapped around her front, their hands intertwined over Felicity's stomach.

Felicity feels bad for Roy who seems to be bouncing between shock at Sara and Felicity's closeness and apprehension about Oliver's impending explosion.

The disappointment radiating off of Diggle is probably the worse for Felicity. They've always been upfront with each other and she knows that he feels like she's lied to him, to all of them.

Because a lie of omission is still a lie.

**…**

Since it's no longer needed, Felicity puts a stop to her investment scheme and returns the money she took to Oliver's trust fund. The remaining funds are split three ways and sent to the charities that Gracen forced people to steal from. It's a miniscule amount in comparison to what was taken, but it still makes Felicity feel slightly better about what she had to do. It's awkward and takes longer than it usually would with Sara still wrapped around her, but it is comforting after what just happened, plus it seems to make Diggle's irritation with Felicity morph into amusement. 

No one's really spoken yet, though Oliver does seem to be slightly calmer. Except dropping from the brink of volcanic explosion to just boiling over hardly seems like that great of an improvement.

"What kind of auction site did you find, Felicity?" Diggle asks.

"People bidding on the opportunity to kill someone," Felicity answers.

"And you left that part out, because?" Oliver questions.

"You wouldn't have agreed to my plan otherwise," Felicity replies. "And I really was the best one to go in there."

"Or we could have adjusted the plan," Sara argues. "Come up with something a little bit safer."

"Guy seems like a sick fucking psycho to me," Roy says. "I think we would have been screwed either way."

Both Sara and Oliver glare at him.

"I agree with Roy," Diggle interjects. "Gracen started the game. He was already several moves ahead when Felicity started looking for him. We've been playing catch up the minute we got involved."

As always, Diggle is the voice of reason, for which Felicity (and probably Roy) is grateful for.

"Then what do you propose we do next?" Oliver questions.

"We regroup and come up with a new approach," Diggle answers. "Once we have _all_ the information." He turns his attention to Felicity and she tries not to flinch under his stare. "And we know who we're dealing with, we go after him again."

"I'll start searching tomorrow," Felicity offers.

"Fine," Oliver says. "We can start fresh tomorrow."

"Thanks guys," Felicity says quietly. "I really am sorry."

"It's okay, Felicity," Diggle replies. "We all understand why."

"Really?"

Diggle follows Felicity's eye line as she watches Oliver walks away.

"Yes," Diggle replies. "He'll realize it once he calms down a bit."

"If you're sure," Felicity says.

Diggle nods. "I am. Besides, I'd worry more about your girl's feelings before Oliver's."

Sara chuckles, but doesn't say anything.

Felicity groans. "I know, I just... I can only deal with one angry mask at a time."

While Diggle may find Sara's continued snickering entertaining, Felicity worries since she has yet to deny being upset.

Diggle grins. "It'll be fine."

"I hope so," Felicity replies. "Thanks Dig."

**…**

"You're mad at me," Felicity says.

They're sitting on her couch, pretending to watch TV, like always, but Sara has yet to speak since they entered the apartment; though she is sitting as close as possible without actually pulling Felicity onto her lap.

"I'm not mad," Sara replies. "I just... when Nyssa released me, I thought that I was mostly done worrying about my family being in mortal danger, that the fear I felt knowing she had my mom... But tonight, having to sit out there and listen, while you were inside, mere inches away from him?" Sara sighs. "And then to find out that you _knew_ that he was that vile, and you didn't tell any of us..."

"Sara..."

"You're one of the bravest people I know, Felicity," Sara says. "And I would never ask you not to be. I guess I'm still trying to sort through all my feelings about us and how it relates to the team. However, it would really help me if you didn't multiple the worry like that."

"Okay," Felicity nods. "I can admit that I may have let my own ego get in the way of my good sense."

"You think?"

Felicity rolls her eyes at Sara. 

"Thank you," Sara tells her.

"So now what?"

"I have no idea," Sara replies. "I guess I just thought that you would have at least mentioned something to me at least about your plan."

"Even though you defended me from Oliver?" Felicity questions.

Sara nods. "He doesn't get to yell at you."

"Thanks."

"But I really do wish you'd told me," Sara continues. "And not necessarily because we're dating, but because I thought we talked about things. Because we both know that it's the not talking that leads to trouble."

"I just didn't want anyone to worry," Felicity replies. "You all have plenty to worry about without me adding to it."

"Well considering that one thing we all already worry about is you," Sara says. "I don't think any of us would have minded."

"Likewise," Felicity replies. "But I wanted to have as much info as possible before jumping in; especially since so much of vileness he participates in is done online. That’s my domain."

“So you were trying to trap him?”

“I tried, but I couldn’t find enough...”

“Enough what?” Sara questions.

“Info, background, dirty deeds, you name it,” Felicity replies. “So I had to try and get his attention. And I already knew he was recruiting people.”

“I hate that you took such a risk,” Sara says.

"I had to. I was hoping that his email would give me something else to track," Felicity explains. "It didn't. My meeting him face to face was plan B."

Sara struggles with how to respond because she does understand where Felicity is coming from. She finally just says, "Well at least you took Roy in with you." Because Sara hates to think how badly it could have ended without Roy's presence.

"And it gave us a bit more insight into how much he knows," Felicity adds.

"Plus, you did manage to surprise Gracen by bringing Roy," Sara says.

"Not enough," Felicity grouses. "I underestimated him."

"He underestimated you too though," Sara points out. "Having the Vigilante on your side was definitely unexpected, which worked in your favor."

"Having you around also works in my favor too," Felicity grins.

Sara grins back, pulling Felicity in for a kiss that eventually leads to Felicity standing and tugging Sara towards the bedroom.

"No more secrets, though, right?" Sara questions.

"No more secrets," Felicity agrees.


	7. Chapter 7

Entering Verdant the next morning, Felicity pauses, hearing Roy and Thea arguing.

"So you're really not going tell me where you were last night," Thea says.

"I can't," Roy protests. "And it was no big deal."

"Does it have anything to do with where you've been disappearing to lately?" Thea asks.

"Ummm..."

"It's my fault actually," Felicity interjects, stepping further into the club.

Both Roy and Thea spin to face her. Roy is shocked while Thea seems to become even more agitated.

"Your fault?" she questions.

Felicity bobs her head. "I asked him to help me out," she replies. 

"With?"

"I asked him to teach me some self defense moves," Felicity explains. "Because I've been feeling really unsafe lately?"

Thea crosses her arms. "Why Roy?"

"Well, uh, the thing is, I didn't actually plan on asking him to, uh, teach me," Felicity stammers. "I just wanted some advice about it? And it sort of turned into him showing me some things. And then one thing led to another and..." 

"I see," Thea says. She turns to Roy. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I asked him not to," Felicity blurts out. 

"I appreciate you explaining things," Thea says. "But why are you here?"

"I was looking for Sara, actually," Felicity replies.

"She's in the back," Roy says. "I'll get her."

Roy takes off before Felicity can stop him, leaving her standing there awkwardly with Thea.

"And why are you looking for Sara?" Thea asks.

"Ummm, well, I have her cell phone?" Felicity replies, holding it up.

"And why exactly do you have her cell phone?" Thea asks.

Felicity's not sure what Sara wants her boss and ex boyfriend's sister to know about the two of them yet. "Well, she, uh, kind of, well, uh..."

Thankfully, Sara's arrival interrupts Felicity's stammering.

"Hey babe," Sara says, walking over to Felicity and greeting her with a quick kiss. "What brings you by?"

Thea actually does a double take at Sara's actions.

Just as caught off guard by Sara's greeting, Felicity has to shake herself before handing over Sara's cell phone. "You, uh, forgot your phone at, uh, my place this morning."

"Thank god," Sara replies, ignoring, but half smiling at the tension in the room. "I was worried that I'd lost it. Was a bit distracted this morning."

"Of course," Felicity says. "I have to go. Work and such. But I'll see you later?"

"Definitely," Sara smiles. "Have fun at work."

Felicity nods and hopes that Sara and Roy will keep Thea distracted enough for her to sneak downstairs. 

"Okay, what the hell did I miss?"

When she hears Thea's question, Felicity knows she's probably in the clear.

**…**

A few hours later, Felicity hears footsteps on the stairs, but doesn't look up. She's almost certain that it's Roy, plus, she's almost found what she's looking for. Once she's done, she spins around to face him, offering an apologetic smile.

"Thanks," he says. "For earlier."

"It's the least I could do, especially after last night," she replies. "I know I left out a few things."

He waves off her concern. "Everyone's allowed a few secrets," he replies. "Besides, I can take care of myself."

"Still..." Felicity says. "Thank you for last night. It really helped knowing you had my back."

Roy actually looks a bit embarrassed by her gratitude. "Anything for Team Arrow."

Felicity giggles. "Not that I'm complaining," she says. "But why are you down here?"

"Just wanted to make sure you're doing okay," he explains. "Sara said you seem fine, but..."

Felicity smiles at him. "I'm good. Really. Just frustrated that Gracen got the best of me."

"Do you think that Adrian Gracen is his real name?" Roy asks.

Felicity nods. "He's insanely arrogant, so sure that no one can touch him and as far as I can tell, Adrian Gracen really does exist and has for almost forty years."

"We should be able to use that," Roy says.

"That's what I was hoping," Felicity replies. "But he's very good at covering his tracks. At this point, I think the only thing we can do is use the recorded conversation from the other night."

"We can use that?" Roy asks.

Felicity nods. "I hope so. I need to listen to it though, and make sure that he actually said something that he can be prosecuted for."

"And if he didn't?" Roy questions.

"I'll just have to keep looking, I guess."

"We just need to lock him in a room with me," Roy replies. "That'll solve the problem."

"I couldn't ask you to do that," Felicity says.

"It'd be worth it," Roy tells her. "That guy is a sick bastard."

She nods. "There's just the problem of it being virtually impossible to snatch him from his numerous body guards," Felicity points out.

Sara appears before Roy can respond. "Thea's looking for you," she tells Roy.

He nods. "Later then," he says before disappearing up the stairs.

Once he's gone, Sara plops down on Felicity's lap. "Miss me?"

"Always," Felicity retorts.

"Good answer. Find anything?"

"Just more proof that he's a horrible human being," Felicity replies.

"Do I want to know?" Sara asks.

Felicity shakes her head. "I certainly don't."

"I'll wait then," Sara replies.

"Where does Thea think you are?" Felicity asks.

"Calling you," Sara answers.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted her to know," Felicity says.

"So how exactly were you going to explain having my cell phone?" Sara asks.

"I was hoping I'd run into Roy first, honestly."

"No such luck," Sara smirks.

"Is she mad?" Felicity asks.

"Just surprised," Sara replies.

"I bet," Felicity says. "Us knowing each other seems odd if you don't know about... our night life."

"Telling Laurel is going to be fun," Sara smiles.

Felicity groans.

Sara laughs.

"She already hates me," Felicity bemoans.

"I'm sure she doesn't," Sara assures.

"Well she thinks I'm sleeping with Oliver," Felicity returns.

"Probably," Sara agrees. "But doesn't everyone at Queen Consolidated think that?"

"Not helping," Felicity grumbles.

"So now it's a question of did I steal you from him or did you temp me away?"

"You're hilarious," Felicity mutters.

"I'm just glad that Ollie's still too apprehensive to go after what he really wants," Sara says. "Works out for me."

"Plus, he doesn't think of me like that," Felicity says.

"Lucky for me, I don't think he's quite realized how amazing the two of you could be together," Sara replies. "That it'd be worth all the angst. Because it is for me."

"So you stole me from him, then," Felicity teases.

"Yep," Sara smiles.

"Pretty proud of yourself, are you?"

"Well you're quite the prize," Sara replies.

"Quite the charmer too," Felicity says.

"Just speaking the truth."

"And you were worried whether or not she liked you," Diggle chuckles.

Startled, Felicity spins around so fast that Sara almost falls off her lap.

Diggle is behind them grinning.

"How'd he sneak up on you?" Felicity asks Sara.

"He didn't," Sara answers. "I knew he was there."

"Thanks for the heads up," Felicity tells her.

"What's this about me not liking you?" Sara asks.

"Nothing."

" _Someone_ wasn't sure of your feelings," Diggle answers instead.

"Please tell me that this was before I asked you out," Sara teases.

"Of course it was," Felicity replies. "And I just wanted to be sure."

"She just showed up in the middle of the night," Diggle adds.

"It wasn't _that_ late," Felicity protests.

"So Dig is your go to for girl talk?" Sara asks. “That’s unexpected.”

"It shouldn't be. I am excellent at it," Diggle says.

"Did you guys braid each other's hair too?" Sara asks.

“I’m hurt you didn’t notice,” Diggle retorts.

"You're both ridiculous," Felicity tells them.

**…**

After an entire day of searching, Felicity is no closer to finding Gracen. She listens to what she was able to record from the other night, hoping it's clear enough. It is and though she's not sure, Felicity prays that a few things he said are enough evidence to warrant an arrest.

"The only problem is, how do we get it to the police?" Roy asks.

"I hate to suggest it," Felicity replies. "But I was thinking Detective Lance."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Oliver asks.

"No," she says. "But he already knows that I work with you, or rather with the Vigilante. He's our best bet. I just need to figure out the best way to approach him." 

"You mean, besides the obvious?" Roy questions.

"It makes sense," Sara agrees.

"I'd really rather not," Felicity says.

"Why not?"

"It seems unfair," Felicity replies. "Like I'm taking advantage of the situation."

"Because we're dating?" Sara asks. "Because I'd make the offer even if we weren't."

"Still..."

"Sara really is the best choice," Diggle says. 

"And it has to be you that asks him, so meeting him on a roof top isn't exactly an option," Oliver adds.

"You're sure you're okay with this?" Felicity asks Sara.

Sara nods.

"Okay," Felicity says. "Then I guess that's how we're doing this."

**…**

When Sara tells her dad that Felicity wants to stop by with a _work_ related question (hoping her tone conveys the unspoken meaning), his response is that she should just come over for dinner. 

Her lack of response prompts him to add, “Because I’m sure you two have places to be later.”

It takes Sara a second to realize he’s referring to hooding it up (Felicity’s term) and not about the two of them being together. She knows this would be the perfect opportunity to tell her dad that Felicity is her girlfriend, but it feels too soon. Even if he knows and likes Felicity, Sara just doesn't feel ready to tell him. 

Felicity is just as surprised when Sara tells her and her rambling goes on for a full minute before Sara’s laughter halts her.

Knowing that Sara seems to enjoy her babbling, Felicity no longer admonishes her for letting it go on so long. (Sara finds it adorable that Felicity seems less likely to realize she’s babbling around Sara than anyone else.) Instead, she asks if she should bring something.

“Just your beautiful self,” Sara replies.

“Sara,” Felicity huffs.

“It’s a work related visit,” Sara points out. “And dad isn’t going to be expecting you to. It’ll be fine.”

“I just want to make a good impression,” Felicity replies.

“You will when I officially introduce you,” Sara assures her. “Besides, he already likes you.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

This assertion must comfort Felicity because when Sara lets her into the apartment, she seems calmer than Sara expected her to be. She shakes his hand and thanks him for inviting her to dinner.

"The more the merrier, Ms. Smoak," he replies.

"Felicity. Please, Detective Lance."

"Well then maybe you should call me Quentin," he replies.

Felicity nods gratefully not noticing Sara's surprise. Oliver's never had the luxury of such informality with her dad, though maybe there's too many bad feelings between them for her dad to get to that point with Ollie. Either way, her dad's response bodes well for his reaction to her relationship with Felicity.

Dinner is pleasant, Felicity only rambling once and not appearing too embarrassed by it. Apparently she's that comfortable around her dad and he in turn, seems accustomed with Felicity's tendency to babble, taking the meandering sentence in stride.

After dinner they all sit down and Felicity briefly (for Felicity) explains the situation. Knowing that it’s easier if her dad doesn’t realize that Roy knows the identity of the Vigilante, Sara is impressed as Felicity is able to explain Roy’s presence as well without giving anything away.

(Later Sara learns that her dad already knew that Roy was somewhat involved with the Vigilante, which is the reason he so easily accepts Felicity's story.)

Her dad simply nods and gestures for Felicity to play the recording.

Despite knowing that Felicity is perfectly safe, Sara can't help but clench her girlfriend's hand as they listen to Gracen threaten her.

He listens to it twice.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea to take this to the DA, Felicity," he says finally.

"Why not?"

"Technically he doesn't admit to anything that can be proven. No last names are used and I'm not sure that the DA would be willing to take the chance."

"Oh."

"More so, I worry about the reaction when people realize that both you and Harper were helped out by the Vigilante. That could open up a whole other set of problems for you; people asking a lot of questions, especially with there being a record of both of you possibly being associated with him."

"There's no mention of the Vigilante," Felicity points out.

"True," he agrees. "But there is the distinct sound of arrow noises in the background. Plus, how are you going to explain your escape? You were surrounded, with guns pointed at you. I could hear the weapons cocking. You certainly can’t say that your former assassin girlfriend burst in to save you both."

Sara freezes as his words sink in. Felicity is still thinking about her options.

"Why do we have to say that she's a former assassin?" Felicity asks.

"How are we going to explain her skills otherwise?" he counters.

"Just that she learned to defend herself while sh— Wait a minute, did you say... girlfriend?"

"Caught that, huh," her dad smiles.

Felicity nods nervously.

"Dad, I’m..."

"I understand, Sara," he interrupts.

"And you're not..."

"Well I wish I would have realized it a bit sooner. I probably would have asked a few more questions at dinner," he replies. "But as long as you're happy and cared for, that's the only thing that matters to me. Always."

"Thanks dad."

"Plus this seems like a better choice than being with Queen again," he continues. "Though I do have to wonder what the Arrow thinks of this development."

"He's... getting used to it," Sara replies. 

"And your boss is fine with you stealing his girlfriend?" he asks Felicity.

Felicity is flustered. "I didn’t..."

Sara laughs.

"She asked me out," Felicity protests.

Her dad turns to her, but doesn't speak.

Sara shrugs. "Life's too short to not go after the things you want."

He smiles sadly before turning to Felicity. "I could do the threatening father thing, but I'm sure you're already well aware that I carry a gun every day."

Felicity nods vigorously.

"Good then we understand each other."

"I just want Sara to be happy," Felicity says. "Well that, and for her to keep working out in her sports bra." The moment the words leave her mouth, Felicity groans, mortified.

Sara laughs.

"I, uh, didn't... I am so sorry, sir."

"It's fine, Felicity," he replies. "It's far from the most inappropriate thing you could have said."

"Just give her some time," Sara teases.

" _Hey_."


	8. Chapter 8

Dinner with Detective Lance, or rather, Quentin (which is really difficult to think of Sara's dad as) was equal parts good and bad. While it was extremely disappointing that Felicity would have to try and find another way to take down Gracen, it is nice to know that Sara's dad approves of their relationship.

The relief helps Felicity through two disheartening days of finding more and more ways that Gracen is pure evil with no real solution on how to stop him.

Telling the story to Diggle (and Oliver because he's nearby with really good hearing), receives a grin and a teasing fist bump. They both question the astonishment on Oliver's face from the story and learn that even after all this time, he still calls Sara's dad, Mr. Lance.

"Huh," Felicity says.

"There's probably just too much bad blood between you two," Dig points out.

"Plus I'm far less threatening," Felicity adds.

"It's fine, guys."

"Maybe it's because you're Lance's favorite member of Team Arrow," Diggle jokes.

"I said it's fine," Oliver reiterates. "And that definitely doesn't help."

"Do you think he’s really okay with... all of it?" Felicity ponders as Oliver walks away.

"He's struggling," Diggle admits. "But since he still maintains that he just can't pursue a proper relationship, he has no choice but to accept it."

"True."

“He worries,” Diggle continues. “He knows that Sara can take care of herself and that you’re learning, but even then it’s not as simple as that.”

“I know.”

"Personally, I think it's a good thing," Diggle tells her. "For both you and Sara."

"Okay then," Felicity says. "Thanks Dig."

"Of course," he replies. "And try to relax. I speak from experience, vendettas are exhausting."

Felicity nods. "Easier said than done," she says. "But I'll try."

"Good."

**…**

But as the days progress, it becomes more and more difficult to let things go. Every time Felicity finds something that she thinks might give her a clue or an insight or an idea, it eventually turns out to be a dead end, leaving her feeling a bit dejected.

What doesn’t help is the email she receives five days after meeting Gracen face to face.

_Ms. Smoak,_

_While I’m saddened that our encounter ended the way it did, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. We both underestimated each other and there is a lesson to be learned from the experience._

_That being said, I’m going to offer you a bit of advice._

_Knowing what I do about you, I imagine that you’re frantically trying to find some other way to stop me. You might as well just give up. You will not defeat me. I cannot be bested. You may be one of the more formidable opponents I’ve ever faced, but I know for certain that you will not be the cause of my downfall. So save yourself some time and energy and concede defeat. There is no shame in losing to a superior opponent._

_I wish you all the best and I hope you heed my advice._

_Sincerely,  
Adrian Gracen_

_PS Tell your hooded friend hello and to stay out of my way._

Felicity stares at the screen, fuming. It’s bad enough that the fact that there seems to be no way to truly stop Gracen. But to receive this email warning her off, taunting her, telling her that she’ll never win is probably one of the most infuriating things Gracen could have done.

Which he most likely realizes.

She doesn’t show it to the others. She plans to tell Sara about it later, but she’s too irritate to discuss it at the moment. Felicity knows she needs to calm down a bit before she can talk about it.

**…**

Knowing she can't put it off any longer, Felicity dials Trevor's number. She calls in the morning, hoping that the store isn't too busy and that he'll have time to talk.

"Trevor, it's Felicity."

"Felicity, hey," he greets. "I was hoping it was you."

"I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you," she says.

"It's okay," he replies. "I know you have other things to do besides investigations for your ex."

"It took more searching than I thought it would to find... things," Felicity explains.

"I knew you'd find something eventually," Trevor replies. He takes a deep breath. "It's not good, is it?"

"I'm so sorry, Trevor," Felicity tells him. "But I'm pretty sure that I found Kevin's body in the morgue."

Obviously trying to hold back tears, Trevor asks, "Then why haven't I been notified?"

"He was found with no ID, so he's listed as a John Doe," Felicity explains. "I, uh, may have done some comparison to the bo—the paperwork to the medical records you sent me."

"Oh." Trevor takes a shuddering breath. "Was it bad?"

"I... I don't know," Felicity says, not willing to answer truthfully, but knowing her lie would be obvious.

"Oh," Trevor says again. "Do you know why? Was it because of the job offer?"

Felicity nods, but then remembers they're on the phone. "It was."

"Oh god," Trevor sobs. "I should have stopped him. I knew it was bad, but I didn't..."

"Hey, Trev, no, it's not your fault," Felicity says.

"I just can't believe that he's really gone," Trevor sniffles. 

"I am so sorry," Felicity says.

"And the bastard who did this is just going to get away with this, isn't he?" Trevor asks.

This the part of the conversation that Felicity has been dreading the most. But wanting to alleviate some of Trevor's pain, Felicity decides to go with a version of the truth.

"I hope not," she says. "I, uh, know someone who can get a hold of the Vigilante. I've asked them to pass along the info."

"Oh. Wow. Really? You do?"

"I do."

"That's crazy," Trevor says. "And I thought you working for Oliver Queen was unexpected."

Felicity's not sure how to respond to that.

Which Trevor must sense. "Not that I'm not grateful. Because I am. Knowing that the Vigilante is hunting this guy down is sort of reassuring."

"This guy is a monster and shouldn't be allowed to roam free," Felicity says.

"He must be," Trevor agrees. "Though you aren't necessarily one that believes in an eye for an eye."

"Starling City has gotten a lot worse lately," Felicity replies. "What I believe in is making the city a better place."

"Do you really think he can get this guy?"

"I hope so," Felicity says.

"Then thank you," Trevor replies. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this. You'll let me know what happens?"

"Of course," Felicity assures him.

After she and Trevor hang up, Felicity stares at her phone for a long time. She hates herself a little for getting Trevor's hopes up when she still has no idea how she's going to find Gracen. But apparently she hated to call with only bad news even more.

She's starting to worry that she's exhausted all her options and that Gracen will never be found. As she stares at the list of his horrendous acts, an idea occurs to her. Maybe she's going about this all wrong. He's arrogant enough that he's safeguarded from ever being caught by the police, however, someone like her was still able to find him. Maybe she just needs to piss him off enough that he slips up and makes a mistake.

Returning to the dreaded murder auction site, Felicity begins to hack it. It takes a while, but eventually she gets in. There seems to be plenty of safeguards in place to keep someone from shutting it down, but there's nothing stopping her from rewriting some small bits of code and wreaking havoc.

Maybe she can't take down the whole website, but she can certainly make the people who visit the site worry about their anomaly being compromised. (Important, prominent people) And since the website replies on its (depressingly) high number of visitors, making people hesitant to visit the site will surely anger Gracen.

Step one, complete.

**…**

Sara's beginning to worry about Felicity. She understands her frustration at not being able to go after Gracen. Sara really had hoped that the confrontation between him and Felicity would be enough; that way, Felicity would never have to be anywhere near him again. But her dad's been a cop for a long time and knows better than most that the police see the Vigilante as a bigger threat than anyone else in Starling.

He even apologized to Sara while Felicity had been in the bathroom for being the one that had brought Felicity's involvement with the Vigilante to the police's attention. Knowing her dad like she does, Sara understands and told him that no one blames him, especially Felicity. He reluctantly accepted this before telling Sara to keep an eye on Felicity because (and he speaks from experience) situations like this have a way of ruining a person's soul and no one wants that for Felicity.

Sara had assured him that she'd be there for Felicity, however she was needed, but now as she shows Felicity how to disarm someone who has a knife, Sara can admit that the injustice of Gracen still walking free seems to be taking its toll on her girlfriend. Sara certainly understands the need to not feel helpless and weak and she's so glad to be one of the people helping Felicity learn to defend herself. However, Felicity seems to be spending more and more time training. Between that and _hours_ spent in front of her computers looking for a way to take Gacen down, it feels like Felicity never leaves the Foundry. Someone's always with her, usually Sara, unless she has to work. But what worries Sara is that Felicity obviously realizes that the four of them are hovering and she doesn't seem to mind. Sara just can't tell if it's genuine fear of the situation or that her focus on going after Gracen is so intense that she just doesn't care; Sara finds either answer upsetting.

It's an odd place to be in; dating Felicity is even better than she imagined and waking up next to her is something she wants to do forever (which is a scary thing to admit, even if it's just to herself), but Sara is also concerned that going after Gracen has become Felicity's sole focus. She constantly feels torn between apprehension and contentment.

Though currently, it's pride at Felicity's progress. Thanks to her, Oliver and Diggle, Felicity's skill of self defense are high, lessening everyone's (including Felicity's) worries about her being in dangerous situations. Because no matter how many times they try to avoid it, it just seems like an inevitability. 

They stop for the day once Felicity's managed to disarm Sara several times. And then Felicity's back in front of her computers, still searching. Sara knows she talked to Trevor earlier today and figures that the unpleasant conversation is currently what is driving her.

Oliver had asked the other day if Sara was jealous of the fact that Felicity was willing to go to all this trouble for an ex, but Sara's definitely not. She knows it's because she's Felicity and that's just how she is. Sure, now it's half wanting to get justice for Kevin and half wanting to wipe the arrogant smirk off Gracen's face, but it started in a good place. Besides, from what Sara's read over Felicity's shoulder this past week, Gracen is one of the most despicable people she's ever met; and considering her past, that's saying a lot.

And though she's trying to be supportive, Sara has to wonder how finding all this evil is affecting Felicity. She's concerned that Felicity's light may be starting to dim. This whole undertaking has become so personal for her that if it doesn't end with Gracen facing justice, Sara thinks it might leave a permanent shadow over Felicity.

"Do you work tomorrow night?"

Felicity's question pulls Sara from her contemplation and she pauses mid push up. Looking up, she's surprised to see Felicity watching her with a passionate intensity that Sara hasn't felt directed her way for a couple of days. (Not because Felicity hasn't wanted her, but because for the last few days, while in front of her computers, Felicity has been _completely_ focused.)

"I don't," Sara replies as she resumes her pushups.

"Good," Felicity replies. "How about you and me, a little drinking and a little dancing?"

"Sounds good. Any place in particular?" Sara asks.

"I was thinking of Verdant," Felicity answers.

"You want to take me out to the club I work at?" Sara questions with a smirk as she pauses again.

Felicity shrugs. "The drinks are good, the music's better and it's certainly not my fault that you work at the best club in the city."

"You really need to work on your invitations," Sara tells her.

"The invitation was perfect," Felicity answers. "It's the explanation that you seem to have a problem with."

"I suppose that's technically true," Sara chuckles.

"So is that a yes?"

"Of course it is," Sara replies. 

Felicity's grin is the most reassuring thing Sara could ask for at the moment. Maybe things are finally starting to turn a corner.


	9. Chapter 9

Felicity's feeling a bit gleeful as she checks police reports. One of the things she found while investigating Gracen is that he has company that makes children's pornography and posts it online. People subscribe for an absorbent fee. After setting up a virus that randomly leaks onto the computers of those visiting the site, she's now pointed the police towards at least three separate shooting locations. She's called in a noise complaint, a potential meth lab and the possible hideout of the Vigilante. The noise complaint supposedly came from four separate neighbors, which Felicity hoped would force the police to visit the house. When the police knocked on the door, they caught a flash of something suspicious enough that they had to bust in the door. They found enough evidence to make it a crime scene. 

The potential meth lab was investigated yesterday and a six year old boy was saved. It took a lot to convince the police that the third location was possibly where the Vigilante was hiding, but Felicity knows enough to drop the right clues to eventually intrigue someone to check it out. This time, because of their hatred of the Vigilante, a piece of green fabric was enough to convince them to burst in. 

Felicity hopes that the combination of finding these three locations will lead the police to investigate the possibility of something much larger.

As she searches for more locations to point the police towards, she goes after the payment system that Gracen uses for the murder auction site, the children's pornography site and the various human traffickers he's involved with.

Gracen acts as the middle man for human trafficking. He helps connect buyers with sellers, taking a ten percent commission. It seems to be especially lucrative for him because of the unique (disgusting) wants of the (sickening) particular type of customers he's in contact with. In fact, he seems to specialize in rare finds.

It takes her a lot to hack into the system, but once she does, she lets out an excited, "Yes!" with a fist pump. Thankfully, Sara's the only one in the basement with her. She just smirks at Felicity and keeps doing pushups.

Gracen must not believe that anyone would ever be able to hack into his financial system because Felicity finds so many ways to mess with him.

What she decides to do is funnel the money to someone who (no names, it's safer that way), after taking thirty percent commission (Felicity is mostly okay with this because of the huge risk factor), turns it into actual cash and puts it into duffel bags. The bags are then taken to various charities as donations. She figures that it'll be more difficult for Gracen to take the money back this way because not only is it actual currency, the cash is spent almost immediately by the charities. It's part of the reason that the money is given to the specific charities; they are all in desperate need of funds and what to use the money for is decided only moments after having received it.

Having multiple attacks arranged, Felicity is a bit giddy and for the first time in days, lets her eyes wander towards her girlfriend. Sara is doing pushups, but from Felicity's point of view, it's an excellent vantage point as she watches. Not wanting to lose the high she's on, Felicity suggests that the two of them go out dancing. With a bit of good natured teasing, Sara accepts and returns to her pushups, leaving Felicity to figure out what to wear tomorrow night.

**…**

With Sara spending the majority of her time at Felicity's apartment (enough time to have her own toothbrush and drawer), it feels odd to pick her up at Detective Lance's apartment. Still, Sara insisted, saying she wanted to be surprised by Felicity's outfit and vice versa. So, even though she knows she has his approval, Felicity is still nervous as she knocks on the Detective's door.

He smiles at her as he gestures her inside and Felicity feels a little self conscious in her short red dress. She knows Sara will approve, but facing her dad in it is a bit daunting.

"She'll be out in a moment," he tells her.

Felicity nods. "Good. There's much dancing to be done." 

"I'm just glad that she's actually taking some time to have fun," he replies. "Make sure she has a good time tonight."

"Oh I intend to," Felicity purrs. And then realizing her audience, she groans. "I am so sorry, sir, I didn't mea—"

He holds up his hand. "It's fine, Felicity. Considering what my daughter has chosen to wear tonight..." He sighs. "How's our mutual friend doing? Is he still looking into Gracen?"

Grateful for the subject change, Felicity bobs her head. "We are. Knowing someone like that is running around free doesn't sit well with any of us."

"Me neither," he agrees. "I am sorry that I couldn't help more."

"I appreciate you looking out for me Me avoiding being associated with the Vigilante is definitely a good thing."

But then Sara steps out in leather pants and a skin tight shirt and it takes every ounce of self control Felicity has to not say one of the dozen sexual comments that seeing Sara in that outfit bring to mind. After her slip up last week, Felicity would really like to not come off as some kind of lecherous perv around Detective Lance. Just because he approves of her more than Oliver, doesn't mean that he's going to tolerate her inappropriate comments.

"Looking good, babe," Sara greets as she kisses her on the cheek.

"You, uh, too."

Sara smirks and takes Felicity's arm. "We should probably be going."

"Be safe," Detective Lance tells them.

"You are damn delicious in that dress," Sara says as they exit the building.

"Yes, well, I really wish you hadn't worn those pants," Felicity retorts.

"Why not?" Sara pouts. "Don't I look good?"

"You know you do."

"Then what's the problem?" Sara asks.

"The problem is that now all I really want to do is go back to my apartment and take you up against my door," Felicity replies. 

Sara grins. "That's definitely part two of the evening. But I was promised dancing. Plus, my girlfriend is insanely hot and you're not going to deny me the chance to walk into that club with you on my arm, are you?"

"You're lucky you look so good in those pants," Felicity retorts. "Because, seriously?"

Sara laughs before giving her a lustful kiss filled with promise.

"Mean," Felicity stammers when it ends.

Sara laughs even louder and Felicity wants to live in the perfect moment forever.

They take a cab to the club and walk right in. Sara working at the club has its advantages. Though, the way that the bouncer's eyes focus on their boobs, Felicity's pretty sure they probably would have gotten in anyway.

At the bar, they get a drink and then weave across the dance floor until they find a table. The music's loud enough that they can't talk, but it's not really the reason they're there. They sip their drinks for a song before Sara pulls Felicity onto the dance floor.

Watching Sara move to the music has Felicity torn. Because while it's one of the hottest things she's ever seen, it also really makes Felicity want to be pressed up against her girlfriend, naked.

As if she can read Felicity's mind, Sara pulls her in closer and wraps her arms around her with a teasing grin.

Felicity makes it through one song with Sara grinding against her before she gives in, and lets her hands wander where she really wants them to. She leans in, her lips close to Sara's ear. "We're not really matching the beat."

Felicity can feel Sara's grin. "It doesn't feel like you care that much."

"Considering I already told you what seeing you in those pants is doing to me," Felicity retorts. "Do you blame me?"

"Then my plan is working," Sara replies.

Felicity considers continuing the banter, but trying to make sure she's heard and understood over the pounding bass seems less important than enjoying Sara pressed against her. So she pulls away slightly and flashes a flirtatious grin at Sara before letting go and dancing.

Smirking, Sara matches her movements and everything melts away until it's just Felicity, Sara and the music. 

**…**

It's such a perfect lazy morning, that Felicity almost hates to ruin it with reality. But she promised Sara no more secrets, and since she's already put so many things in motion, Felicity knows she has to tell Sara today.

Still she puts it off a bit, just enjoying the morning; it feels like she and Sara haven't had time lately to just be. And then realizing that this is because of her intense focus on Gracen and feeling guilty because of it, Felicity sits Sara down for a serious discussion. She can feel Sara's confusion and worry as they sit on the couch, facing each other.

"So I owe you an apology," Felicity starts. "I know I've been a bit obsessive lately."

Sara tries to wave off her concern. "Knowing that there's someone like Gracen out there, no one blames you. It's just a matter of learning to find that balance."

"It's worse than that, though," Felicity replies. "Gracen emailed me last week."

"He what?"

Felicity nods. "He told me to back off and stop looking for him, that he's unstoppable and that I should just save myself the stress and give up."

"Which you took as a challenge to do the opposite." 

It's not a question; Sara's tone is full of exasperation. She most likely already knows where the conversation is going and Felicity feels the guilt begin to form a ball in her stomach. Felicity nods again, avoiding eye contact.

"Hey now, none of that," Sara says, lifting Felicity's chin gently. "I'm just not... I hate how afraid for you this whole thing has made me."

Felicity swallows nervously. "Um, then you're really not going to like what I'm about to say next."

"What did you do?"

"I may have ignored his warning—"

"Of course you did."

"...and went after him in a different way," Felicity finishes.

"What does that mean, Felicity?"

"I may have maybe screwed with his various businesses," Felicity answers.

"How?"

"By getting the police involved or planting viruses or maybe stealingfromhimanddonatingittocharity."

It takes Sara a moment to filter through Felicity's run on sentence. But after she does, Felicity watches the realization turn to fear and then anger.

"What would possibly make you think _that_ was a good idea?" Sara sputters.

"Do you know how many horrendous things he helps perpetrate?" Felicity answers.

"Yes! Because you showed me. But I thought you were still going to—"

"I was," Felicity interrupts. "But then I talked to Trevor and I..."

"I can't believe that you would ac—" Sara takes several deep breaths. "I'm going to go." She stands.

"What? No. Sara, I di—"

"I'm going to go before I say something in anger that I'll regret," Sara tells her. "I'll talk to you later. Okay?"

Felicity nods as Sara disappears into the bedroom to get dressed. She emerges a few moments later and without sparing Felicity a glance, exits the apartment. 

**…**

Not in the mood to talk to anyone, Sara heads to the Foundry. However, also concerned for Felicity's safety, she makes a call to Diggle and asks if he has time to hang with Felicity today.

"I suppose I do," he replies. "Why?"

Sara growls and says, "I can't talk about it. I'm sure she'll explain when you get there."

"All right," Diggle replies, his voice full of bemusement.

Sara's thankful for his easy acceptance of the situation. It gives her one less thing to worry about.

Apparently Sunday is a day of rest for all of them because the basement is empty when Sara arrives. She starts with the basics, sit ups, pushups, etc., knowing she doesn't have the focus for anything more than a warm up. Eventually she needs more and moves onto weapons practice. 

It takes over thirty minutes of attacking things with her bō for Sara to admit that her aggravation is coming solely from her fear for Felicity. As someone who cares about her, Sara knows that she'd be afraid for Felicity even if they weren't in a relationship. However as someone who could fall in love with her, the fear Sara has now is wrapped so tightly around her that she feels like she may suffocate.

Briefly, Sara wonders if maybe Oliver was right; that what they do is too dangerous to involve another person in. Except that Felicity's already a part of this and in danger no matter, just from being part of the team; that's never going to change. The only thing that differs is how Sara feels about her. So the question becomes, is the absolute happiness that Sara felt this morning when she woke up wrapped around Felicity worth the pure terror that washed over her when Felicity explained how she unintentionally made herself the target of a madman.

Everything she's believes and has done up until this point, especially with her relationship with Felicity, says yes. However, her hesitation makes Sara wonder if she's just been lying to herself this whole time.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not making my usual update yesterday, but true to form, I'm stuck on the ending and so stuff is flowing slower.

The knock on the door takes Felicity by surprise. She's pretty sure that it's not Sara, so she approaches the door cautiously. She's surprised to see Diggle through the peephole.

"What are you doing here?" Felicity asks as she opens the door.

"Nice to see you too," Diggle replies. "May I?"

"Of course," Felicity says, stepping aside. "Do you want coffee?"

"I'm fine," he tells her. "Sara asked me to stop by."

"Oh." Felicity heads over to the couch, knowing that Diggle will follow.

"Did you two have a fight already?"

"Not exactly," Felicity says. "Sort of. More like she left before we could really have one."

"Because..."

Felicity sighs. "Because I pissed her off and she didn't want to say something she'd regret."

"Dare I ask what you did?"

"I'd rather not say," Felicity replies.

"Why not?" Diggle asks.

"Because, what if you get mad too? I can only take so much in one day."

"But making me worry with vague, unsettling statements is okay?" Diggle questions.

" _No_."

Diggle waits.

"I may have reacted a bit rashly to the Gracen... situation," Felicity eventually explains.

"How?"

"I was already frustrated and then he sent me an email taunting me," Felicity tells Diggle. "And then I had to call Trevor and explain the situation."

"I see."

"So when I had the idea of screwing up Gracen's various... I guess you could call them business ventures, well, I just jumped in and started creating chaos for him without really thinking it through."

"What exactly did you do?" Diggle asks.

"I planted viruses and stole money mostly," Felicity replies.

"He's going to know it was you," Diggle says.

"I assume as much," Felicity agrees.

"Be honest with me," Diggle starts. "Were you trying to bait him? Like you did Tockman?"

"What? No!" Felicity replies. "Well, not like Tockman, anyway."

"But you were trying to bait him?" Diggle questions.

"Into making a mistakes," Felicity clarifies. "Something we could use to have him arrested or find his location or put a stop to him somehow. But I wasn't planning on going anywhere near him alone. I mean, I didn't even agree to meet him the first time without back up."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

Diggle nods. "But maybe you need to tell Sara that."

"I would have," Felicity assures him. "But the conversation didn't even get that far. She was too angry."

"Well, she's worried enough that she asked me to stop by," Diggle finishes.

"I know," Felicity replies. "Though I'm sure it'll be a few days at least before Gracen retaliates."

"You do realize that that isn't exactly a comforting statement, don't you?"

Felicity nods. "How pissed do you think she is?

"I'm sure once she sorts through her feelings, it'll be fine," Diggle assures her.

"I am getting better at defending myself," Felicity offers. "I know I'm nowhere near you guys..."

"You're probably better than most, though."

"Thanks Dig," Felicity says and then sighs. "Oliver's probably going to be mad too."

"Probably," Diggle agrees.

"But you're not," Felicity points out.

"I'm just better able to realize that my initial anger is based on my fear, quicker than they are," Diggle answers. "And you're learning how to defend yourself. By now they should both know that you're not going to just sit on the side lines."

"True," Felicity agrees.

"We probably should have offered to teach you self defense sooner," Diggle continues. "I'm sorry that it took us so long to realize that."

"Thinks seemed simpler before the earthquake," Felicity tells him.

" _Really_?"

"Well maybe simple isn't the right word," Felicity says. "But things have just gotten darker and more complicated since."

"That's something I can agree with."

"Thanks for stopping by and checking up on me," Felicity says.

"Anytime," Diggle replies.

**…**

Felicity's beginning to lose hope that Sara will be coming back today. Diggle stayed through dinner, but Felicity eventually pushed him out the door afterwards, because she knows that he has things of his own to do. It took a lot of convincing to for him to agree that Gracen wouldn't be coming after her tonight and Felicity's honestly not sure why Diggle finally relented, but she appreciates it. The TV's on, but she's not really paying attention to it. She's half contemplating what to say to Sara when (if) she returns and half listening for trouble. 

Felicity really doesn't think that Gracen will come after her yet. She just started things in motion a few days ago and Felicity knows he'll be dealing with the consequences before coming after her. Felicity actually hopes that she'll have an additional couple of days because he won't immediately retaliate because he'll want to set up something that proves he's still better than her. Which will give Felicity some time to plan for his attack. Or maybe he'll just send some goons to kill her. Which actually seems like the easiest solution for him. Though, truthfully, Felicity doubts that he would. His hubris would dictate that he'd make it personal. He will want to enjoy his triumphant in person. If anything, the goons would grab her and then take her back to some secret lair where he could boast about his superiority and then order her to be killed.

This line of thought is not comforting, especially with the addition of worrying about Sara. Felicity decides that she needs to distract herself.

Which is how she ends up cleaning out her fridge when the doorbell rings a couple hours later.

Because it's late, Felicity approaches the door carefully. Looking through the peephole reveals that it's Sara. Letting out a sigh of relief, Felicity opens the door.

"You're cleaning?" Sara asks looking at the clutter on the kitchen counter.

"I needed something to do," Felicity tells her. "To distract myself from the possibility of you not coming back."

Sara nods. "Should we sit?"

"I don't know," Felicity says. "Is this a discussion, an ultimatum or are you breaking up with me?"

"Definitely a discussion," Sara assures her.

"A discussion sounds doable," Felicity replies with relief as she sits on the couch.

"There's one thing I have to know," Sara states.

"Okay."

"When you set up all those things to ruin Gracen's life, were you trying to bait him? Is this like Tockman? Because just like then, you have nothing to prove. To any of us."

"I know," Felicity agrees. "And Tockman wasn't about proving myself to you guys. Myself, maybe."

"That's good."

"But with Gracen, I suppose it is about baiting him—"

Sara growls.

"But baiting him to make a mistake," Felicity explains. "It's bound to happen with someone with an ego his size."

"I guess that's true," Sara allows.

"And then he'll be easy to find or do something we can easily prove to the police," Felicity finishes.

"You seem awfully sure about that," Sara replies.

Felicity nods. "I sat across from him, looked him in the eye. I know."

"You should have told me sooner," Sara says.

"I know. I was going to tell you about the email, but I was too mad and then I talked to Trevor, which was just so... And then once I had the idea, I was so excited about there being another way, that I just did it. And I know I should have told you, but I just wanted one night where I didn't have to worry about it. And since he'll be too busy trying to fix what I did for a couple days, I had to take the opportunity while I could."

"I'm just relieved that you were right."

"Me too," Felicity agrees. "I was starting to think that you weren't coming back." 

"I wasn't sure either," Sara replies. "But then Diggle came and found me."

"Really?"

"Apparently the fact that I didn't come back before he left made him want to search me out," Sara says. "Make sure I wasn't giving up."

Despite the fact that Sara's right in front her, Felicity suddenly feels very afraid. "Were you?" she asks. "Giving up, I mean."

"It's been a long time since I've been as afraid as I was when you told me about your plan," Sara explains. "I loved Nyssa, and even though I knew there was no guarantees, I still never worried for her like I do for you."

"Right," Felicity says. "Because unlike her, or you, or Oliver, or even Dig, I'm not a trained fig—"

"It's not that," Sara interrupts. "What I have with you is so different from what I had with Nyssa or Oliver—"

"I would hope so."

"And not just for the obvious reasons," Sara continues. "I want someone who understands me, but not necessarily because they've been there too."

"You don't?"

"I know in the beginning you felt... left out because you didn't have scars to compare with us," Sara says. "But I kind of love that your first battle scar came from taking a bullet for me. Not because you were trying to save me but because it's about you looking out for others, wanting to help. Even this Gracen thing... It may be about pride now, but it started out with you wanting to help someone, to make the world a better place."

"You and Oliver want that too," Felicity points out.

"We do," Sara agrees. "But it's coming from a complete different place; at least for me. I've done a lot of unforgiveable things in my life."

"Sara..."

"A lot," Sara confirms. "And I'm trying to make up for that. But you... you're just such a refreshing change from what my life has been the last six years and I don't want anything to change that. You know what I realized earlier? That yes, I'm afraid of Gracen coming after you. But I'm more afraid of you losing... that spark that makes you you." 

"I'm still me," Felicity says.

Sara sighs. "I guess I just thought I'd have more time to figure out how to deal with the overwhelming fear of you being in danger and everything that it entails."

"You just have to accept it and realize that it's part of what we do," Felicity tells her. "Just because you're a highly trained fighter, doesn't mean you're invincible. I worry about you guys every time you go out."

"True..."

"And while I'm nowhere near your level, I am definitely getting better. Maybe even above average? Wouldn't you agree?"

"I would," Sara says. "And that's basically what Diggle said too."

"He did?"

"Well, actually, he told me I was being an idiot," Sara replies. "Reminded me that the amazing things worth having always come with big risks."

"Because you forgot?"

"Apparently," Sara says. "Like I said, it's been a long time since I've felt that level of fear."

"I don't know whether to apologize or be flattered."

Sara smiles. "Forgive me?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that?" Felicity questions.

"Or since we're apparently both wrong, we could just move onto the make up sex?" Sara suggests.

"I like that idea the best," Felicity agrees, letting herself be pushed onto her back.

When Sara breaks the kiss to pull off her shirt, she asks, "You know that you're not going anyway alone for a while, right?"

"I figured as much," Felicity sighs.

Sara grins. "Guess now you're really stuck with me."

Felicity throws her shirt in Sara's face in reply.

**…**

Though Felicity thinks they're over reacting a bit, she agrees to never go anywhere alone. Though if Gracen decides to drag it out, she's not sure if she'll be able to handle it indefinitely. It's already been a week and she's starting to get annoyed by having a constant escort, even if most of the time, her companion is Sara. She worries a little that the forced togetherness might be a little too much for them so soon in the relationship.

"You worry too much," Diggle tells her. "You guys already spend most of your time together. What's the difference?"

"The difference is the unsaid fear that she's been radiating lately," Felicity replies. 

"We all have that," Diggle reminds her. "And since you brought this on yourself, you're just going to have to accept our suffocating concern for you as punishment."

"I didn't hear any of you guys coming up with a better plan," Felicity protests.

"You also didn't ask," Sara joins in.

Sighing, Felicity spins to face her now freshly showered girlfriend.

"I must have missed the memo that said this was a democracy," Felicity retorts.

"Just accept the fact that we care and stop complaining," Sara replies. "Dig's right, it's the consequences of your choices."

"And the ganging up on me?"

"A bonus for us," Diggle answers.

"Fine," Felicity sighs.

"Thank you," Sara replies. "I know how difficult that was for you."

"Have fun hanging out with Laurel," Felicity says. "I'd say tell her hi from me, but that would be weird."

Sara grins. "Don't stay too long. I'm sure Diggle's got places to be."

"I'm just about done," Felicity confirms. "I don't want to make Dig wait too long."

"Diggle also doesn't appreciate being talked about like he's not in the room."

"I'll call before I come over," Sara tells Felicity.

"I know," Felicity replies. "Just like you have been all week."

"See you later, Diggle," Sara says. "Don't let her get too snarky with you."

"I can keep her in line," Diggle grins. "I'm used to dealing with the difficult ones."

"I'm ignoring you both now."

Sara and Diggle speak for another few minutes before Sara leaves. Felicity really does feel bad about making Diggle wait for her and so she tries to hurry. Looking up, she sees him checking his email.

"I'm really sorry, Dig," Felicity tells him. "This really shouldn't take too much longer."

"It's fine, Felicity," he assures her.

Fifteen minutes later, she's finished. 

"You didn't have to hurry on my account," Diggle says.

"I didn't. But do you mind if we stop for food on the way home?" Felicity asks. "My treat."

"I'm meeting Lyla, for dinner actually," he replies. "But we can pick up something if you want."

"Thanks," she says. "I'm going to have to go to the store tomorrow."

"You should take Oliver," Diggle replies. "He can be your pack mule."

"I'm tell him that you said that," Felicity says as they head up the stairs.

"Like you weren't thinking it," Diggle retorts.

**…**

Neither she or Laurel seem to be in the mood for more than each other, so they opt to eat take out in Laurel's apartment. 

"You've been difficult to find lately," Laurel says.

"What do you mean?"

"Well for someone who's staying with dad, you never seem to be there," Laurel explains.

"I was probably just at work when you stopped by," Sara replies.

"Maybe," Laurel says. "But according to dad, you're not there that much."

"His hours don't really match mine."

"He also said you and Oliver broke up," Laurel continues.

"We did," Sara nods.

"And that you're seeing someone else," Laurel adds.

"Well, I—"

"Isn't that a bit fast?" Laurel questions.

"I guess it could seem that way," Sara replies. "But I'm not sure being with Ollie again was all that healthy."

"But rebounding onto someone else is?"

"I'm not rebounding," Sara says. "If anything, Ollie was the rebound."

"From who?" Laurel asks. "I know you've been through a lot, but you've barely told me anything about the last six years of your life."

"I'm not sure I'm ready to talk about it yet," Sara replies. 

"I suppose I shouldn't have expected you to be," Laurel says. "Oliver certainly wasn't."

"It's easier to move forward that way," Sara explains. "And I need that. For now at least."

"That I can understand. So when am I going to meet this new guy?"

"Ummm..."

"You already introduced him to dad," Laurel points out. "I can't be more intimidating than he is. He carries a gun."

"So do you," Sara replies.

"Well, I have a gun," Laurel agrees. "But I don't carry it on a daily basis."

"She still finds you more intimidating than dad," Sara says.

"Because I'm the big sister? Have you mentioned how... Did you say _she_?"

Sara nods.

"Is that why you don't want to introduce me?" Laurel asks.

"Partly."

"You know I don't care about stuff like that," Laurel says. "Dad obviously didn't."

"I know."

"So why don't the three of us go out to dinner sometime?" Laurel asks. "I'd love to meet her and I have to admit, I'm a bit curious."

Sara really wasn't prepared to do this yet, but it seems like Laurel isn't going to let it go. "You already know her."

"I do?" Laurel questions. "Is that why you don't want to tell me who she is?"

"Partly."

"Well you have to tell me now," Laurel says. "I can't imagine who it would be that would be such a big deal. I mean, an—"

"It's Felicity Smaok."

"Who?"

"Oliver's assistant," Sara clarifies.

Laurel seems speechless. So Sara just waits, looking everywhere, but at her sister.

"I wasn't expecting... Really?" Laurel laughs. "I was so sure that they were sleeping together... And then you came back... And he and you... But now you're telling me that you're dating _her_."

"Yeah."

" _Really_?"

"She gets me," Sara replies. 

"Felicity Smoak _gets_ you?"

"She does."

"Okay."

"Okay?" Sara asks.

"The three of us are having dinner soon," Laurel tells her.

"Laurel..."

"Sara, relax," Laurel says. "I just... I don't think I've been exactly fair to her. And if you and her are... dating, then maybe I should take the time to get to know her."

"I guess that would be okay," Sara replies.

"I promise to be as nice as possible," Laurel swears.

"I'll talk to Felicity," Sara says.

"Good," Laurel replies. "I'm looking forward to it."

Sara's not quite sure what to think, but if Laurel is willing to try, then Sara will ask Felicity. She just hopes that her girlfriend won't feel too intimidated. Though if she does, it'll just mean more of the patented Felicity Smoak rambling that Sara so enjoys.


	11. Chapter 11

Once again Diggle insists on walking her inside the building and Felicity wonders why she protests every time. Habit, she supposes. This time, however, the moment they're on the sidewalk, Diggle stops and falls to the ground. Tense, Felicity crouches to the ground, looking around as she tries to feel for a pulse. She notices the dart in his arm and quickly pulls it out.

"Relax, Ms. Smoak. He'll be fine."

Felicity stands slowly, eyes on the shadowed figure of Adrian Gracen with a gun pointed straight at her.

"He'll wake up in about a half hour," Gracen continues. "Giving us plenty of time to talk."

"About?" Felicity asks.

"It seems that some of my projects have been experiencing difficulties lately," Gracen replies.

"I'd say I'm sorry to hear that," Felicity says. "But we both know I'd be lying."

"Especially since you're the one behind it, Ms. Smoak," Gracen states.

"So what? You're here to warn me off? Prove that even with protection, you can still get me?" Felicity retorts.

"Surely you can't be that naive, Ms. Smoak ," Gracen tells her. "I was going to kill you before at the bar. The only reason I didn't pursue you after your vigilante friends rescued you is that I thought you understood what I was capable of." He smirks. "Didn't you get my email?"

"You mean your challenge?" Felicity retorts.

"It's hardly my fault that you can't handle the fact that I'm smarter than you."

"And yet you're here now," Felicity says. "Because of my actions. Perhaps you can be bested."

"Momentarily," Grace replies, taking a step closer. "But that's about to be taken care of."

"Please," Felicity scoffs, stepping closer to him and away from Diggle. "A man like you doesn't have the guts to kill someone yourself."

"The gun in my hand seems to suggest otherwise, Ms. Smoak," he tells her. "And you don't have to worry about Mr. Diggle. Once you're taken care of, I'll be on my way. I find the idea of him waking up to your dead body just delightful."

"I'm not going to let that happen," Felicity says.

"And how are you going to stop me?" Gracen questions, taking another step closer. "Your protectors are too far away to help you. I can _see_ that you're not wearing Kevlar; and even if you were, I'll be aiming for your head. Mr. Diggle will be out for another twenty minutes at least. Or are you hoping to keep me talking long enough for him to wake up? I admit, I am enjoying this chat, but you probably shouldn't hope for that. Because, I can assure you, if you're still alive when he wakes, then I'll be shooting him, then you. And what a horrible thing for you to have on your conscious before you die." 

"Maybe I'm counting on you being a terrible shot," Felicity retorts, stepping closer. "We both know that you have people that kill for you. In fact, I'm surprised that you didn't just order one of your men to do it."

"And deprive myself the joy of getting rid of you myself?" Gracen replies. "No, I intend to savor the moment. Though I will always win, it has been enjoyable to go against someone I'd almost consider a worthy opponent."

"Lucky me."

"You should feel honored, Ms. Smoak," Gracen says. "There are very few whom I consider a proper adversary. It's been a long time since I've encountered one, truthfully. It's why I'm going to take such pleasure in killing you."

Felicity scoffs.

"It's the little things in life, you know," Gracen continues. "Don't get me wrong, I hav—" 

Finally close enough, Felicity uses one of the kicks Sara taught her to knock the gun out of his hand. He drops it and it skitters across the concrete. He's ready for her next attack and ducks out of the way. And then they're both racing towards the gun. She reaches it first, but he's there the next second, trying to pull it from her hand. They struggle, but eventually his additional height and weight allow him to wrench it from her grip and shove her to the ground. He points the gun at her head.

"Well, it seems once again that I've underestimated you Ms. Smoak," he huffs. "I almost feel like I should apologize. It really is a shame that you won't consider joining me. We could do so much together, you and I. But instead, here we are."

"I don't know how you managed to accomplish all you have," Felicity retorts. "It seems to me that you're all talk and no action."

"Defiant until the end," he smirks. "A true mark of a hero. Good bye Ms. Smoak."

Felicity closes her eyes and hopes that Diggle doesn't blame himself for her death.

The gunshot echoes loudly on the quiet street.

**…**

When Felicity opens her eyes, she sees Gracen on the ground, a bullet hole between his eyes. She jumps up and moves to help the now awake Diggle, lowering a gun.

"Since when do you carry a gun?" she asks him.

"Since this thing with Gracen started," he replies. "Seemed like a good plan B."

"Not that I'm complaining," she says, helping him stand. "But how are you awake?"

"No idea," he tells her. "I guess you pulled the dart out before enough could get in my system."

"Do you think if we just leave him here without his wallet, the police will think it's a mugging gone wrong?" Felicity questions.

"Even if they did, do we really want to risk it?"

"I suppose not," Felicity replies. "Is that gun registered to you?"

"No. Too dangerous," he tells her.

"Good." Felicity pulls her tablet out of her bag and unlocks it. "If I find his car, do you think you can carry him to it?"

"Depending how far away it is, probably," Diggle replies. "Are you going to make it look like a suicide?"

"It's the only explanation I can think of for why someone like Gracen would be in this neighborhood," Felicity explains as she begins to search for Gracen's car registration. 

Diggle takes a moment to clear his head as Felicity finds that Gracen drives a Silver Cadillac. Felicity then begins pulling up traffic cameras to find where Gracen parked while Diggle slides his gun in his ankle holster and retrieves Gracen's revolver.

"Found it," Felicity exclaims. "It's about two blocks over. Do you think you can carry him that far?"

"We have no choice," Diggle replies. "We can't wait around for Oliver. It'll take him too long to get here." 

Felicity nods and gathers up their things. Diggle tosses her his car keys and she puts everything in his car as he struggles to throw Gracen over his shoulder.

It's a struggle, but they make it to Gracen's car faster than Felicity expected. She's impressed because even if Dig didn't get the full effects of the tranquilizer, he still experienced some. They find Gracen's car keys in his pocket and Diggle manages to shove him into the driver's seat. After putting the keys in the ignition, they wipe everything they touched clean and then using his shirt, Diggle places the gun in Gracen's left hand at Felicity's urging.

"He's left handed?" Diggle asks.

"Ambidextrous, actually," Felicity replies. "But I think the angle is more believable from his left." 

"You do?"

Felicity shrugs. She then pulls her sleeve over her hands and then tries presses Gracen's hands to the areas that they wiped clean. "It's not perfect. But hopefully it won't make them automatically think homicide."

"Hopefully," Diggle agrees, watching Felicity hit the door lock button with Gracen's hand.

Once they're sure they've covered their tracks the best they can, they quietly close the door and stroll away.

"Is Lyla going to be mad that you're late?" Felicity asks as they walk back towards her apartment.

"She'll understand," Diggle assures her.

"Right," Felicity says. "Because she knows about our... night life."

Diggle nods.

"That must make things easier."

Diggle nods again.

"I'm glad," Felicity says. "I guess this means we won't be spending as much time together anymore."

"We'll just have to go back to braiding each other's hair and talking about boys," Diggle retorts.

"Have I thanked you for saving my life, yet?" Felicity asks. "Because, thank you, Dig. I..."

"You're welcome," he replies.

The walk the rest of the way in silence. There doesn't seem to be anything else to say.

"I could stay if you want," Diggle offers when they reach her apartment.

"No, it's fine," Felicity assures him. "I mean, Gracen's dead. What do we have to worry about?"

"You're sure."

Felicity nods, even though she's not.

He eyes her for a moment and Felicity's pretty sure that he can tell she's lying. But thankfully, he doesn't call her on it. "Promise me that you'll tell Sara about this later," he says.

"Only if you promise not to text her when you leave," Felicity replies.

"She'd want to know," he tells her.

"And I will tell her," Felicity assures him.

"You better," he replies. "And call me if you need to?"

Felicity nods.

"I mean it, Felicity," he says. "If you're not going to call Sara, then you can call me. Okay?"

"You're going to be with Lyla," she points out.

" _Felicity_."

She nods again.

"Okay," he replies. "We'll tell the others tomorrow then."

"Night, Dig," Felicity says. "Thanks again."

**…**

Despite knowing that Gracen is dead, Felicity feels shaky. Curled up in a ball on her couch, she considers texting Sara, but doesn't want to interrupt the sisterly bonding. Because even if she tries to appear nonchalant in her text, Sara will see right through her. Besides, it's just a couple hours. She can handle a couple hours.

So Felicity pulls out her tablet and begins trying to distract herself.

When Sara shows up later, Felicity barely lets her get inside before wrapping herself around her girlfriend.

"I missed you too, babe," Sara chuckles.

"Gracen'sdead," Felicity says into Sara's shoulder.

"What was that?"

Felicity drags Sara to the couch and makes her sit. She sits on the other end, facing her.

"Uh... is everything okay?"

"Gracen ambushed Diggle and I earlier," Felicity starts.

" _What_?!"

"Just let me finish, please," Felicity pleads.

"Fine," Sara seethes.

(Felicity knows that Sara's not actually mad at her, but decides she needs to tell the story as quickly as possible.)

"He, uh, knocked Diggle out," Felicity starts again. "And then pulled a gun on me." Felicity can see that Sara is struggling against speaking, so she tries to hurry her story. "I managed to get close enough to kick it out of his hand—"

" _You did what_?!"

"And we both went after it, but eventually he won and pointed it at me again," Felicity continues. "I, uh, really thought that was it, but instead Diggle shot him."

Sara's confusion seems to pause her anger. "I thought he was unconscious."

"I did too," Felicity replies. "But somehow, he managed to wake up. Maybe because I pulled the dart out almost immediately?"

"I can't believe you didn't call me," Sara says.

"I didn't want to interrupt your dinner with Laurel," Felicity explains.

" _Seriously_?" Sara questions. "I'm surprised my dad didn't call me. I know he's working tonight."

"Why would your dad call you about this?" Felicity asks. "He doesn't know."

"He doesn't know? You didn't call the police?"

"And say what?" Felicity replies. "Diggle killed a man who was trying to kill me because I tried to find tangible proof of his vileness? I could show the police everything I've found, but there really is no way to connect anything back to Gracen that would hold up in court. He made sure of that. Not to mention, my being arrested for hacking."

"Dig killed him?"

Felicity nods.

"What did you do with the body?" Sara asks.

"Put it back in his car and tried to make it look like a suicide," Felicity replies.

"You did not."

"We didn't have a lot of time to come up with a plan," Felicity tells her. "I still can't believe that no one called the police about the gunshot. It makes me question my neighbors a bit."

"And then what? Diggle walked you back and left?"

Felicity nods.

"Why didn't you call me?"

"And say what? You need to get back here now? For what? Gracen's dead," Felicity replies. "I didn't want to be a bother."

"You didn't want to be a bother?!" Sara exclaims.

"I've sort of made a huge mess of the situation," Felicity rationalizes. "And now that it's over, I just want to move on."

Sara is shaking her head at her. "I... You had a gun pointed at you tonight. Twice. I'm not really to just move on."

"But I'm okay," Felicity assures her.

"I feel like you're trying to teach me how to swim by throwing me in the deep end of the pool."

Now it's Felicity's turn to be confused. "What does that mean?"

"My getting used to you being in danger," Sara explains. "There's no baby steps with you, is there?"

"Sorry?"

Sara doesn't reply, obviously working through something and Felicity tries to let her.

"You're really okay?" Sara finally asks.

Felicity nods.

"Next time, you call me," Sara tells her. "No matter what. I want to know."

"I promise the next time that Diggle stops a madman from shooting me to call you afterwards," Felicity grins.

"You're hilarious," Sara replies.

"So how was dinner?" Felicity asks, deciding it's time for a topic change.

"Interesting," Sara says. "I told Laurel about us."

"You what?"

Sara nods. "Apparently, my dad mentioned that I was dating someone else and she wouldn't let up until I told her."

"Oh," Felicity says. "How did she take it?"

"She was surprised."

"I bet," Felicity mumbles.

"But once she realized how happy you make me, she promised to make an effort," Sara concludes.

"That's reassuring," Felicity says.

"So we're having dinner with her next week," Sara adds.

"What?"

**…**

Sara can't sleep. Despite the fact that she's tightly wrapped around Felicity, (as reassurance that she really is okay) she can't sleep. Her girlfriend is doing a little better, though she did seem to have a nightmare earlier. Being awake, Sara had done her best to soothe her and Felicity had fallen back into a more peaceful sleep.

While she is immensely proud that all of the training Felicity has done paid off, Sara is still struggling. Though she's thankful that Felicity's fine and even more relieved that Gracen is dead, she's still a bit angry that Felicity didn't call her. She'd said as much to Felicity about it, and her girlfriend had apologized profusely, promising to never do it again. Having thought about it for the past couple hours, Sara realizes that it's partly because she and Oliver always downplay their near fatal encounters and Felicity was just following their example. Except the reason that Sara (and probably Oliver too) usually downplay it is because they're used to it. Oliver spent five years always a few steps from death; and while being in The League of Assassins gave her security, she was still at risk more often than not.

Maybe Sara needs to tell Felicity more about her time at Nanda Parbat. She's mentioned bits and pieces and Felicity never pushes, but maybe she can explain the worry she still had about Nyssa, even if she's a deadly assassin. Because it's not just about Sara trying to get used to Felicity being in danger, it's also about Felicity trying to be who she thinks Sara needs (is used to. First Nyssa, then Oliver.), instead of who Sara wants. How Sara feels about Felicity (It may be love, even if it feels too soon.) is partially because of how different she is from Nyssa and Oliver; maybe she needs to explain that. She'd tried before, but it probably got lost with everything else they'd talked about a week ago. Also, it's been a while since Sara's had one a relationship discussion; she may be a bit rusty.

Maybe after they have dinner with Laurel next week. Though she's trying not to show it, they both know she's a bit freaked out about it. Sara considers it payback for the brief moment when her heart stopped when Felicity was talking about having a gun pointed at her head. Personally, Sara's not worried; Laurel promised to make an effort and Felicity will end up being her usual adorable self. It sounds like a good night to her.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for the wait. RL got in the way.

"You doing okay?"

Felicity spins in her chair to face Diggle. "I think so. You?"

He nods. "I'm surprised that Sara's willing to let you out of her sight."

"She's in the bathroom," Felicity replies.

Diggle smiles.

"Where's Oliver?"

"Phone," Diggle says. "Where's Roy?"

"Here," Roy announces as he jumps down the last couple stairs.

"One day you're going to miss and hurt yourself," Oliver states as he joins them. "And you're late."

"Oh, so now I can't even use the stairs without hurting myself?" Roy retorts. "I promise I was doing that long before the Mirakuru."

Sara's entrance stops Oliver from snapping at Roy.

"So what's the big news?" Roy asks. 

"Have you found Gracen?" Oliver questions.

"It's more like he found us," Felicity replies, looking to Diggle.

"Oh no, Felicity," Diggle protests, holding up his hands. "This is all yours."

"Thanks," Felicity retorts.

"What happened?" Oliver growls.

"Gracen may have confronted us last night when Diggle took me home," Felicity answers.

" _May have_?" Roy asks.

"Felicity..." Oliver warns.

"After a bit of a struggle, Dig shot him," Felicity says, deciding it's best to just cut to the chase.

Roy looks a bit stunned. "He's dead?"

Felicity nods.

"What did you tell the police?" Oliver asks. "And why didn't you call me?"

"We, uh, didn't call the police," Felicity answers. "And there was no time to call you."

"What does that mean?" Roy asks.

"It means that they made it look like a suicide," Sara tells them. "They left him in his car with the gun."

"But they called you?" Oliver questions.

"There was no time to call anyone," Diggle says. "Felicity and I made a split second decision that we both stand by."

"It was my call," Felicity says. "Diggle was still under the influences of sedation and followed my lead. It was my decision and I stand by it."

"Felicity, I could have stopped you," Diggle replies.

"No you couldn't have," Felicity tells him. "I started this craziness and so I had to finish it. End of story."

"And you don't think they're going to find it highly suspicious that he shot himself in his car in front of your apartment building?" Oliver asks.

"Well, for one thing, he was parked two blocks away, which I really think was overkill on his part," Felicity replies. "And second, there's no reason to suspect that he and I are connected. There are only two other people who are aware of it that aren't in this room."

"And one of them is my dad," Sara adds.

"The police have bigger problems," Felicity informs them. "And even though Gracen has—had a lot of money, there won't be anyone out there fighting for a deeper investigation. Trust me on this, Oliver."

They stare at each other for a long moment and Felicity can feel how unnerved Roy is, exasperated Sara is (at how Oliver still doesn't seem to completely trust her instincts, even though Felicity knows his resistance is born of fear for her safety) and how amused Diggle is (because that's how he always is whenever Oliver tries to out stubborn Felicity).

"If you're sure," Oliver finally huffs.

"I am," Felicity assures him.

"Okay then."

Roy, still obviously uncomfortable, stares at them both for another minute before saying, "Well, good meeting. I'm gonna go."

"Yeah, I should too," Oliver says before following Roy up the stairs.

"That went well," Diggle chuckles.

"About what I expected," Sara adds.

"Sarcasm noted," Felicity says. "But thanks for the back up."

"Anytime babe."

"Someone's got to keep that boy in line," Diggle says. "It's the most entertaining when it's you."

"You always say the sweetest things, Dig."

**…**

"How are you doing?" Oliver asks the next day.

"I'm okay."

"And you and Sara?" Oliver questions. "Okay?"

Felicity nods.

"Then maybe she really is better for her than I am."

"Oliver..."

"I made Diggle tell me exactly what happened," Oliver explains. 

"Oh."

"Even the fact that you didn't ask him to stay or call Sara after," Oliver continues. "I'm not sure that I could have been so... magnanimous."

"Oliver..."

"I'm still a little hurt that you didn't tell me until the next day," Oliver adds. "Sara must have been livid."

"She wasn't very happy with me," Felicity agrees.

Oliver chuckles. "And yet the two of you seem stronger than ever."

"I guess."

"She even told Laurel about you," Oliver continues.

"She told you that?" Felicity asks.

Oliver laughs. "Actually no. Laurel called me to apologize."

"She what?"

"Apologized. Specifically for her accusations in relation to you," Oliver explained.

"Oh. That's nice," Felicity says.

"I'm sure she'll do the same when you guys have dinner," Oliver tells her.

"Isn't that part of AA?" Felicity asks.

"I think so," Oliver agrees. "But I think she's doing it because of Sara and not AA."

"I guess."

"Hey," Oliver says. "As long as Sara's happy, it'll be fine. Besides you got Lance's approval. That's a lot more than I ever got. Laurel should be no problem."

"Uh huh."

"It'll be fine, Felicity," Oliver assures her. "Just be your usual lovable self."

Felicity's cell phone interrupts her reply. She answers without checking the ID.

"Ms. Smoak," Detective Lance's voice is stern. "We need to talk."

"Yes sir," Felicity gulps. "Where?"

"Do you have time now?" he inquires.

"I do."

"My apartment, then," he replies.

"Okay."

"Who was that?" Oliver asks as Felicity hangs up.

"Detective Lance," Felicity answers.

Oliver looks surprised, then wary. "What does he want?"

"I don't know," Felicity replies. "But I'm not meeting him at the station, so I think it'll be okay."

Oliver nods slowly. "Call me the moment it's not. All right?"

"Am I calling my boss or the Vigilante?" Felicity asks.

"Whoever you think is needed," he tells her.

"Okay," Felicity nods as she gathers her things. "I will. Thanks."

The drive over is filled with anxiety and Felicity tries not to speed. The last thing she needs at the moment is to be pulled over.

Apprehensively, Felicity knocks on Detective Lance's door. Though he didn't say so, Felicity's pretty sure that he wanted to talk to her about Gracen.

He doesn't say anything when he opens the door, just ushers her inside.

"I just finished the most interesting shift," he tells her once they're both seated.

"Oh?"

"Someone found the body of Adrian Gracen in his car last night," Detective Lance explains. "It seems that Gracen committed suicide."

"Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy," Felicity can't help but retort.

"Uh huh," he says. "So of course, you know nothing about it."

"Of course," she replies. 

"And the suicide note we found in his email drafts," Detective Lance adds. "Of course you know nothing about that."

"Of course," she repeats.

He eyes her for a moment. "Ms. Smoak," he says, holding up his hand to stop her protests of the return to formalities.

"I'm only going to ask this once and you're going to nod and _only_ nod, so we both have plausible deniability. Because if anyone asks what you're doing here, it's to discuss Sara and how she's transitioning back to Starling City because I don't see her that often, even though she technically lives with me. Correct?"

"Correct," Felicity nods.

"My belief is that Gracen came after you and had to be stopped."

Felicity nods.

"Did, uh, did Sara do it?"

Felicity shakes her head.

"Did you do it?"

Felicity shakes her head again.

"That's a relief," he says. 

"May I ask a question?"

Detective Lance nods.

"Was his death ruled a suicide then?" she asks.

"It was," Detective Lance confirms.

"Okay," Felicity nods.

"You're not worried about someone from his team going after you?" Detective Lance asks.

"A bit," Felicity admits. "But as far as I can tell, because he never thought he could be beaten, he didn't share a lot of information. I'm not sure anyone else on his team could find me."

Detective Lance sighs. "I think I liked it better when I only vaguely worried about your safety, Felicity."

"Oh."

"And it's not just because you're dating my daughter," he continues.

"Thank you sir."

"Just be careful, okay?"

"Sara and O—uh, Sara's been teaching me self defense. She said I'm as good as Laurel," Felicity informs him.

"Well that's a relief, at least."

"I should probably go," Felicity says, standing. "I'm supposed to be working."

"Thanks for stopping by," he replies, standing. "It seemed like the safest way to do this."

"Thank you for letting me know about Gracen," Felicity tells him as they walk to the door. "And for caring."

"Have a good day, Felicity."

"Bye Det—Quentin."

As Felicity exits the building, she decides that now is as good time as any to call Trevor and update him on the situation. She figures that her car is the best place for privacy since driving back to her apartment seems a bit extreme.

The conversation is brief. There doesn't seem to be more to say then that Gracen has been take care of. Trevor doesn't ask too many questions, though Felicity suspects it's because he assumes that she doesn't know much.

"What about Kevin's body?" Trevor asks.

This is something that Felicity is less sure about. "How long has he been missing?" Felicity asks.

"About two months now," Trevor replies.

"The only thing I can think of is to go to the morgue and ask to see any unidentified bodies," Felicity tells him.

"That sounds awful," Trevor says.

"I agree," Felicity replies. "Is there anyone who can go with you?"

"There is," Trevor assures her. "There's no way I could do it by myself."

"I really am sorry, Trevor," Felicity says.

"Thank you, Felicity," Trevor replies. "For everything. Kevin got justice, even if it wasn't... official and that's really the only thing that's helping me at the moment."

"I'm glad I could help," Felicity says. 

"Is it, uh, okay if we stay in touch?" Trevor asks.

"That sounds nice," Felicity replies.

"Good," he says. "Then I'll talk to you later."

**…**

Dinner at Detective Lance's apartment with Sara and Laurel isn't what Felicity was expecting, but here she sits on the same couch where Sara unintentionally came out to her dad trying to make awkward small talk with Laurel. What adds to the difficulty is that they can't exactly be honest about how they met or became friends. Felicity's grateful that Sara asked her out the way she did, because at least that can be a truthful story. Still when there's a knock on the door, Felicity lets out a relieved sigh. At least now there will be food to distract themselves with.

Felicity jumps up to pay for it, glad for a brief escape.

"I can get it babe," Sara tells her.

"Don't be ridiculous," Felicity replies. "It's fine."

"But I—"

"No arguing," Felicity interjects. "A bigger paycheck is the one thing good thing about Oliver forc—I, mean, uh, I can pay for the pizza."

"Fine," Sara says as Felicity heads towards the door. "But next time..."

"Or you could learn to cook," Felicity tosses back. "I hear cooking someone dinner is considered romantic." As she digs out the money, she hears Laurel chuckle; maybe this won't be so bad.

She's accepting the pizza from the delivery guy when Detective Lance suddenly appears, keys in his hand. "Detective," she says.

"Quentin, Felicity," he reminds her.

"Right. Sorry. You just caught me off guard."

"Considering you're in my apartment, I could say the same thing."

"Busted," the delivery guy says.

"Watch it," Felicity tells him. "Or I'm going to take back your tip."

"Have a good night," he says and then scurries away.

"Pizza?" Felicity offers.

"Not that it isn't nice to see you, Felicity," he says. "But don't you and Sara usually spend time at your apartment instead?" He shuts the door.

"Uh, see, well, the thing is..."

"Hi dad," Laurel greets.

"Sara. Laurel, this is a surprise."

"Well I've been curious about who Sara is dating ever since you told me she ended things with Oliver," Laurel replies.

"Sorry dad," Sara says. "I thought you'd be at work for a few more hours."

"Except on Thursdays," he adds.

"Is it Thursday?" Sara asks.

"So when I said we should have dinner Thursday night," Laurel says. "It never occurred to you?"

"I may have been distracted by other... things," Sara replies.

"Am I that scary?" Laurel questions.

"Or were you worried about me?" Felicity adds.

"I, uh..."

"I'm going to go change while you three figure this out," Detective Lance says. "And then we can sit down and all eat together. At the table."

"It's not my fault that the pizza landed that way," Sara protests. "And I was eight."

"Table," he shouts back.

Giggling, Felicity grabs the pizza box and heads into the kitchen. A grumbling Sara and smirking Laurel follow her.

"When did this turn into pick on Sara night," she grouses.

By the time Detective Lance returns, the three of them are sitting at the table, quietly eating.

"Well isn't this nice," he says as he grabs a slice for himself.

"Well it's certainly less awkward than the last time we ate pizza together," Laurel replies.

Having heard plenty from both Sara and Oliver about that dinner, Felicity stays quiet.

"For which I am extremely grateful," Detective Lance says.

The night is still young, Felicity thinks. Considering there's still several big secrets between them, there's still plenty of opportunities for awkwardness.

"I know you met because of Oliver," Laurel says to Sara and Felicity. "But how did the two of you end up... together?"

Opportunity one, Felicity thinks. She looks to Sara, letting her answer the question. Detective Lance seems interested as well. Felicity wonders if it's because he's curious about how they genuinely started dating (though he does know little bits and pieces) or if he's just interested to see how they're going to spin the situation minus the Vigilante. 

"I think I might have been smitten from the moment I met Felicity," Sara says. "She welcomed me back from the dead, so to speak, and it was one of the cutest things I'd ever seen in a long time. And I've been infatuated ever since."

"But that was..." Felicity manages to catch herself. "That first time, really?"

Sara nods.

"Then why did you and Oliver..." Laurel asks.

"It's complicated," Sara replies.

"We've got time," Laurel tells her.

Felicity is curious how Sara is going to explain that. Looking at Detective Lance, it seems that Detective Lance is just as curious; especially knowing what he does.

"I guess I was just so overwhelmed by coming back. Even now it's... difficult. Ollie had already been through it and it was easy to lean on him, have the support of someone who had gone through the same thing."

"So what changed?" Laurel asks.

Sara doesn't answer immediately. "I spent six years doing things that weren't easy and to just revert back because I was home felt like going backwards, like everything I'd done and went through didn't matter. I'm not the same person I was. I didn't want to be making the choices the old me would have made. Life is too short to not go after what—who you want. Felicity makes me laugh, she understands when I need space and when she should ignore my protests. Ollie and I both went through difficult things, but had vastly different experiences. Our struggles are similar, but still so different. And I know for some people that would bring them closer, but ultimately, I feel like it just allowed us to have the illusion intimacy, save us from _really_ , genuinely connecting. I don't want someone who's struggling with similar demons. I want someone who makes me laugh, who doesn't necessarily let me brood, who drags me out of the shadows and makes me want to stay there with her."

A stunned silence follows Sara's answer. No one expected that answer, apparently not even Sara. Felicity can see this, looking at her. There are tears running down Felicity's cheeks because she's always wondered if she's really the one Sara needs, especially with everything she's put Sara through with the Gracen thing. She stands and tugs Sara into a hug. She wants to kiss away the tears that are forming in Sara's eyes, but she's not sure she's comfortable with the PDA in front of the Lances yet. Sara has no such qualms and kisses Felicity sweetly and gently; and even though the words haven't been said out loud yet, Felicity knows that Sara loves her.

"Me too," Felicity whispers when they pull apart. She wants to _say_ the words, except that she feels that it should be said out loud for the first time when they're alone. 

Luckily Sara seems to understand. She gives a little nod and sits back down.

She tries to return to her chair, but Sara pulls Felicity into lap. " _Sara_."

"Nope."

"But my pizza," Felicity protests.

Detective Lance slides Felicity's plate to her, looking as emotional as Felicity's ever seen or heard him be.

"Thanks."

They all eat in silence for a few moments, the air still heavy with Sara's admission. Sara still has one arm firmly wrapped around Felicity's waist and Laurel, in between bites, is staring at them like they're an enigma she can't believe has been solved.

Desperate to break up the tension, Felicity blurts out, "So does anyone want to hear about the conversation I had with Mrs. Queen the first time she returned to Queen Consolidated after she was acquitted?"

**…**

Sara really had no intention of saying anything remotely close to what she said at dinner, especially since some of the things she hadn't even realized before she said them. She feels better afterwards though. It's the most open she's been with her family since returning. And even if it's not even close to everything that could be said, it's a start. Plus all three of them (even Felicity) seemed honestly surprised by what she'd explained. 

Sara supposes that's to be expected; Felicity still occasionally seems amazed that Sara is with her. The fact that Sara finds her babbling tangents cute and her loyalty and belief in the team incredible just don't seem to be enough to convince Felicity. Sara blames it slightly on Oliver. That those are some of his favorite things about Felicity as well and it still wasn't enough for him, has definitely fed Felicity's doubts. But when Sara kissed Felicity in her dad's kitchen, there was no doubt or insecurity, only trust and belief (and love). Maybe that's why Sara's been holding back somewhat; she'd been unsure if Felicity would truly believe her. Sara no longer wonders.

With Laurel, it was really the first time she'd opened up about anything that had happened in the last six years. Sara knows that her sister isn't naive to the horrors of the world, but they'd both been raised with such a strong belief of right and wrong. And while Oliver's vigilantism has definitely skewed that, Sara has been afraid that Laurel will never be able to truly understand. And that when she realizes that the strength Sara projects comes from such a dark and tortured place, all the bridges they've been slowly rebuilding will be swept aside because Sara will no longer be a sister Laurel wants to have. 

So Sara had been scared that she'd implied too much, that all the terrible things she'd done were written all over her face. And yet, Sara's... admission seems to have had the opposite effect. While their dad and Felicity were cleaning up after dinner, Laurel had pulled Sara aside.

"I know that you'll probably never tell me everything that happened," Laurel said. "And that's okay. All that matters is that you survived and made it back to us."

"Laurel, it's not that simple."

"It is that simple to me, Sara," Laurel told her. "I'm just glad you have someone that helps you cope with everything. Am I surprised about who it is? Yes, absolutely. But you deserve happiness, so whoever makes you happy is okay with me."

Their hug had been awkwardly interrupted by Felicity telling Laurel that her cell phone was ringing. Instead of answering it though, Laurel had turned to Felicity and apologized.

"I'm sorry for everything I've said in the past."

"It's understandable," Felicity had replied. "There were extenuating circumstances."

"Nevertheless," Laurel said. "I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted."

"I'd tell you that if you hurt my baby sister, I'll end you," Laurel had continued. "But I feel like you already know that."

Felicity nods. "I hope you know that I'd take a bullet for her."

"In this city, that's not a meaningless statement." 

"Nor do I make empty promises."

Sara tries not to laugh, especially since Felicity's assurance seems to have gained Laurel's respect.

As for her dad, before this evening, she'd worried that he had just accepted everything she told him because he's so glad that she's alive. But at the end of the evening, he pulled her aside and told Sara how proud of her he is for being able to share what she did, that she's grown up to be an amazing woman, despite everything she's gone through (or maybe because of it). And while he might not be comfortable with or understand everything, he's still so proud to be her father. 

She had hugged him tightly. "And I'm proud to be your daughter. I hope I never let you down."

"Just like I hope I never let you down." 

It's probably why she's still awake, even though it's almost dawn. There were so many ways the dinner could have turned out, but the way it did is even better than Sara could have imagined. She just wants to lay in bed, Felicity wrapped tightly around her and savor the feelings of happiness she's experiencing.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know it's been over a week, but I needed to figure out the next five parts before I could post any of it. Good news, here are 3 parts. Better news, I'm hoping to post 2 more parts sooner rather than later. (Wednesday at the latest, cross your fingers.) Bad news, I have no idea what is going to happen after part 17, so I'm not sure when the next update will be after that.

Felicity's feeling a fair amount of giddiness. Dinner with Laurel went better than expected, Sara loves her, and knows that Felicity loves her back. It doesn't matter that it still hasn't been said out loud days later by either of them. They both know it and that seems to be enough for now.

And if anything, others are noticing it as well. When Felicity was telling Diggle about the dinner earlier, there was a lot of teasing on his part. Towards Sara for not remembering days of the week and towards Felicity in general. She's not quite sure when he became like a big brother, but she's not complaining. (Especially since it's never been like that with her older brother, Marcus.)

Sara is currently looking for a certain pair of boots as Felicity actually does non work (day or night) related things on her computer for the first time in what feels like forever. Though she's offered to help search, Sara has waved her off.

"Are you sure that you left them here?" Felicity asks. "Maybe they're still at your dad's?"

"Maybe," Sara admits, flopping onto the couch.

Felicity just manages to move her out stretched legs.

"But I really thought I'd left them here," Sara says. "I should've probably pay more attention where I'm leaving certain things."

"You should just move in," Felicity replies, her mind still mostly focused on her computer. "It'd probably be easier."

With her focus split, Felicity doesn't immediately realize that Sara hasn't responded. When she does look up, Sara is staring at her, a smile slowly appearing.

"Are you serious?"

Felicity rewinds the conversation in her head and realizes what she'd just said. "Uh... yes?"

Sara doesn't reply.

"Or not," Felicity adds quickly. "It's hasn't been that long and it's probably too soon. I mean, sure you spend a lot of time over here, and you have a drawer, and your family knows, but that doesn't mean that we sho—"

Felicity's rambling is cut off by Sara leaning over and kissing her.

"I'd love to move in with you."

"Really?"

"Of course, babe," Sara replies. "I love you."

Felicity grins. It's pretty great hearing Sara say those three words. "I love you too."

"Yeah, you do."

Felicity rolls her eyes. "I'm rescinding my offer. And my love."

"Too late," Sara smirks. "It's already out there."

**…**

"Need help moving things?" Diggle asks. "Because I bet Roy could help."

Roy lets an arrow go, hitting the target, though not the center. "Leave me out of it."

"You're the one with super powers," Diggle points out.

"Oh so that's what we're calling them now, huh?"

"I was thinking mutation works better," Sara says. "Teenage mutant archer Roy."

"Better than water bowl slapper," Roy retorts.

"But you've gotten so good at it," Felicity tells him.

"Good enough to graduate to buckets of water," Oliver says, joining them.

Roy groans as he lowers the bow. "Seriously?"

"Of course not."

"Hey it's hard to tell with you, dude."

"Don't call me dude," Oliver tells him, glowering.

"As much as we're all enjoying the glaring," Diggle interjects. "What'd you find out Felicity?"

Trying to hide her smirk, Felicity spins around to her computers and lays out the information she's found about the gang that seems to be randomly attacking people.

**…**

When they finally do the official move later that week, it turns out to be almost unnecessary. About seventy-five percent of Sara's things are already at Felicity's apartment and so they really don't need the truck they borrowed to haul all of Sara's things.

When they do have everything of Sara's that had still been in Detective Lance's apartment in the truck, Felicity makes herself scarce, figuring that Sara and her dad maybe need a moment alone.

As she's waiting, her cell phone rings. It's Oliver.

"What's up boss?" she answers. 

"Just calling to see if you guys need any help?"

"Not really," Felicity replies. "Turns out that Sara's basically moved in already."

"Oh. Okay."

"But thanks for the offer," Felicity says.

"Course," Oliver replies. 

It feels like Oliver wants to say more, but after a long moment of silence, Felicity finally asks, "Are you okay, Oliver?"

"Sorry, yeah," he says. "I just... Never mind."

"Oliver..."

"Felicity, it's fine," he tells her. 

"You're sure?" she asks.

"You're happy, right?" he asks. "Sara makes you happy?"

"She does," she replies.

"And we're still a team?"

"For as long as you'll have me," Felicity tells him.

"Good," he says softly.

"Oliver..." she tries. "Are you sure, you're okay?"

"As long as you're okay, I'm okay," he tells her. "I should go."

"Okay..."

She stares at her cell phone once he hangs up. Felicity's always worried that she stole Sara away from Oliver, but maybe (despite their joking) Sara really did take Felicity from Oliver.

**…**

Not always having to get up as early as Felicity, Sara is very used to being able to sleep through her girlfriend's morning routine. So when a cell phone rings near her head, Sara doesn't immediately hear it. But when it rings again and again and again, Sara blindly reaches out for it, wanting it to stop. She answers it with a sleepy, "Hello?"

"Who is this?" the voice on the other end asks.

"This is Sara," she says, waking up a bit more. "Who is this?"

"I'm sorry," the voice says. "I must have dialed the wrong number." And hangs up.

Too tired to care, Sara just shrugs and starts to set the phone back down, when it rings again. And just wanting to get back to sleep, she answers it, "Hello?"

"Who is this?" the voice asks.

Now annoyed, Sara says, "Who are you looking for?"

"Felicity Smoak."

"Oh," Sara replies. "Just a moment."

Sara sits up and listens. Hearing Felicity in the kitchen, she slides out of bed and stumbles into the kitchen. "It's for you," Sara tells her, handing over the phone.

"Why did you answer my phone?" Felicity asks. "Not that I mind, I just—"

Normally, Sara enjoys Felicity's rambling, but she's tired, so she just replies, "Because I was sleeping and it kept ringing."

Felicity finally accepts the phone and Sara stumbles back into the bedroom. The sound of Felicity's voice in the other room lulls her back to sleep.

Only to be woken up by a frantic Felicity, shaking her awake, asking, "Why did you have to answer my phone?"

"What?" Sara asks, blinking up at her, extremely agitated girlfriend.

"Do you know who that was?" Felicity asks.

"Uh, no."

" _That_ ," Felicity says. "Was my mom."

"Oh."

"I hadn't really gotten around to telling her I was dating someone," Felicity continues.

"Oh."

"Or that it's serious enough that we're living together," she adds.

"Okay."

"And even though I'm bi, I've also never really been serious enough about a girl to tell my mom and so even though I tried to brush off the reason you're here at seven in the morning on a Tuesday, answering my phone, she didn't buy it."

"She didn't?" Sara questions.

"Of course not," Felicity snaps. "I'm not a great liar anyway and she's my _mom_. She can tell when I'm holding back, it's one of her more annoying traits."

"What exactly am I missing here?" Sara asks. "So you told her that you're bi? That you're dating a girl? It'll take some time, but I'm sure that she'll ev—"

"I know it will be," Felicity insists. "My mom means well."

"Then what exactly is the problem?" 

"She's coming for a visit this weekend," Felicity retorts. "She demanded that I introduce you."

" _Oh_."

"Now do you see the problem?"

Sara nods, not sure how else to respond.

Felicity flops onto the bed with a groan.


	14. Chapter 14

Sara is in Felicity's chair, as she paces. They're waiting for the others to arrive. Felicity knows that Sara thinks she's acting insane and maybe she is. But it finally felt like things were okay. She may not be the happiest about her day job, but it allows her to do her night job, which she does enjoy (in between all the danger and fearing for herself and her loved ones) and she has an amazing girlfriend who just moved in with her and things were going great. And while she knows that her mom learning about Sara had to happen eventually, she didn't think it would be so soon. Nor did she think her mom would find out the way she did; Felicity knows that telling her mom on her own terms is the only way she wouldn't be so worried.

She supposes it's her own fault. If she'd called her mom more often, then she wouldn't have to worry about unexpected early morning calls when Felicity's not around her phone, but Sara is. Or maybe if she'd told her mom a little bit sooner that she finds both sexes attractive... But it's not exactly something Felicity could just bring up causally. Just because she knows that her mom will be okay with it eventually, doesn't mean that she ever wanted to have the conversation with her. Plus, she figured it would be easier to do so if she was actually dating a woman. And yes, Felicity realizes now that is true, however, she may have been a little distracted until recently, but she really had every intention of telling her mom. She just thought it'd be nice to have a week or two of only Arrow related drama, so excuse her for not immediately calling her mom to make a big announcement. Not that Sara moving in is a big announcement, per say, more like it's just an announcement. Or maybe another word that means something similar. Because Felicity knows if she'd used the word announcement when telling her mom, the woman would automatically jump to the conclusion that Felicity was engaged; that's just how her brain works and while Felicity's not opposed to marr—

"Uh, babe?"

Felicity blinks at Sara, who has grabbed her wrist to stop the pacing. Looking around, Felicity notices that Oliver, Diggle and Roy are there, staring at her. When did they get there?

"Sorry," she says. "Just thinking."

"So what's up?" Roy asks. "Sara won't tells us anything."

"No crisis," she tells them. "So you can relax about that."

"Then why does Sara look so nervous?" Diggle questions.

"My mom is visiting this weekend," Felicity replies. "She found out that I'm living with Sara and said that if the relationship is that serious, she has to meet her."

Roy chuckles, while Diggle out right laughs.

"You'll be fine," Oliver assures Sara, pulling her in for a one armed hug.

Sara pushes him away. "I know."

"So what I need from you guys," Felicity says. "Is for you to deal with all things Arrow related from Friday afternoon when my mom arrives to Monday morning when she leaves."

"We can do that," Roy assures her.

Felicity holds back her laughter at Oliver's obvious annoyance that Roy responded before he could.

"He's right," he says instead. "We can."

"And you're not allowed to help out," Felicity tells Sara.

"Why not? I can just say I'm going to work," Sara says.

"And if you come back all bruised up?" Felicity points out. "How are we going to explain that?"

"She makes a good point," Diggle adds.

"Fine."

"Good," Felicity nods. "I'll set everything up so you guys can run things on your own by Friday morning. So if there's anything you want me to look into, now would be the time."

"I think we're good for now, since we found all the members of that gang," Oliver replies.

"All right," Felicity says. "Then I'll start setting things up."

**…**

It's been a while since her mom has visited. Felicity's been home, but her mom hasn't really been back since Felicity first moved to Starling City, insisting that she had to see where her little girl was going to live. Felicity would have protested more if her mom hadn't done the exact same thing to her brother when he moved into his first place.

"So when am I going to meet this girlfriend of yours?" her mom asks.

They're driving back from the airport and have already covered all the usual small talk about the flight and how Felicity isn't eating enough.

"Tonight," Felicity replies. "She's working right now."

"Shouldn't you be at work, as well?" her mom asks.

"Oliver was nice enough to give me the afternoon off," Felicity explains.

" _Oliver_?" her mom questions.

Felicity nods, eyes still firmly on the road.

"You call your boss, the CEO, by his first name?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Felicity retorts. "He calls me by my first name."

"I see."

Felicity sighs.

"And what does Sara do?"

"She's a bartender," Felicity says.

"Then why is she working at one in the afternoon?" her mom asks.

"Inventory," Felicity replies.

"Felicity, dear," her mom says. (Felicity prepares herself, because she knows what's coming.) "I know I haven't met this woman yet, however, are you sure that a bartender is the right choice of partner?"

Felicity knows her mom means well—having two children that are geniuses has made her a bit judgmental—but even without her back story, Sara would still be worth it. (Though Felicity thinks that non shipwrecked Sara probably wouldn't be interested in her) Thankfully, they've decided to stick as close to the truth as possible.

"Sara's been through a lot," Felicity answers. "She just returned from the dead a few months ago."

" _Oh_. She's the young woman, who..." 

Felicity braces herself, because while her mom isn't a genius, she's not an idiot, either.

"So you work for Oliver Queen who returned from the dead and now you're dating the woman who was on that boat with him?"

"Um, yes."

"I see."

A full five minutes of silence pass. Felicity knows because she can't help but glance at the dashboard every few seconds.

"Instead of going to your apartment," her mom eventually says. "Why don't you show me your office?"

"You want to go to Queen Consolidated?" Felicity squeaks.

"I do," her mom nods.

"All right."

Adjusting their route and changing direction, Felicity tries to remember where Oliver is supposed to be today. Introducing her mom to Sara was already going to be a big deal; Felicity had hoped that the weekend could pass without having to introduce Oliver as well. She's pretty sure he won't be in and prays that she hasn't forgotten anything.

It turns out that she hasn't forgotten anything, but that it doesn't matter. She can hear them arguing the moment they step off the elevator. She sees Diggle in her chair, trying to ignore them. She stops her mom just outside the glass doors and waves Dig out.

"...unbelievably selfish use of..."

"How long has that been going on?" Felicity asks. 

"About fifteen minutes," he replies.

Felicity sighs. "Mom I'd like to introduce you to John Diggle. Dig, this is my mom, Nora Smoak."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Diggle," her mom says.

"You as well, Mrs. Smoak."

"And what exactly do you do here, Mr. Diggle."

Felicity sees Diggle give a small sigh. Like her, he's mostly okay with their secret identities because they're so rarely in the office, but having to actually say it out loud is something Diggle dislikes even more than Felicity does. 

"I'm Mr. Queen's bodyguard and driver," he replies.

"Mr. Queen," her mom says. 

"Correct," he affirms, looking confused.

"My daughter referred to your boss by Oliver," her mom explains. "And the fact that you do not, makes me curious."

Felicity feels herself blushing and knows that Diggle is just barely holding back a teasing grin. "I do address him as Oliver when we're in private, but in public, both myself and Felicity call him Mr. Queen. Just as the both of us refer to her as Ms. Smoak."

"Oh. And what exactly is going on?"

"Mr. Queen is having a discussion with Isabel Rachev about some issues within the company," Diggle answers.

"Do their discussion usually involve such... volume?" her mom asks.

Diggle nods and somehow manages to keep a straight face. "They're very passionate about the company."

"I see."

A moment later Isabel Rochev stomps out of the office and breezes past them without a word. Unfortunately the elevator doesn't immediately appear.

"Nice of you to join us, Ms. Smoak," she snarks.

"Mr. Queen gave me the afternoon off," Felicity replies, not wanting Rochev to realize her mom is standing there. Felicity's sure she'd say something cruelly inappropriate on purpose.

"Of course he did," she snarls. "One of the many perks of sleeping your way to the top, I'm sure."

Or she will anyway. Felicity really should know better.

"How dare you," her mom interjects. 

"And who might you be?"

"Nora Smoak."

Rochev chuckles. "Come to see all the benefits your daughter receives as Queen's _personal_ assistant."

"My daughter went to M.I.T.," her mom defends. "She worked very hard and earned her place here."

"I'm sure she has," Rochev smirks. "Though the fact that she has absolutely no training as an executive assistant, makes a person wonder."

Thankfully the elevator doors open and Rochev steps inside. However, before the doors close, she sticks her head back out. "And Ms. Smoak, don't doubt for one moment that we don't all know that _both_ you and Ms. Lance are currently warming his bed." 

The elevator doors click shut and though she can't see her, Felicity knows that Rochev was wearing a triumphant smirk. Mortified, Felicity doesn't know what to say.

"What exactly is she implying, Felicity?" her mom asks. "And who's Ms. Lance?"

"That would be Sara Lance," Diggle answers. "And it doesn't matter what she's implying Mrs. Smoak, because it's untrue."

"But everyone in the company thinks so?" her mom questions.

"Hey, Dig, where di— Oh. Hello."

"Mr. Queen," her mom says, offering her hand. "I'm Nora Smoak, Felicity's mom." 

"Oh, of course," he replies, shaking her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Smoak."

"Normally, I'd concur," she says. "But I've just heard some rather disturbing things about my daughter."

"If you mean from Ms. Rochev, then I apologize," he tells her. "She doesn't particularly like me and she takes it out on Felicity."

"I see."

"Why don't we all step inside, my office," he offers, opening the door.

Felicity leads her mom in and Diggle opens the glass door to Oliver's office.

"Please have a seat," Oliver says. "Can I get you anything? Water? Sadly, our coffee machine's had a horrible accident."

"No thank you," her mom says. "We won't be staying long. I'm sure you have work to do."

"Nothing that can't wait," he replies. 

"I'd like to ask one thing then," she says. "If I may."

"Of course."

"Why exactly do you choose my daughter as your assistant?" she asks. "I know it wasn't because of whatever Ms. Rochev was implying, because I know my daughter, but I am curious."

"When I first... returned, I had a technical related question and I asked your daughter for help. Felicity didn't treat me like other people had been. And I guess that just stuck with me. And then when I became the CEO, I wanted someone who... hadn't been a part of my step father or mother's time here at the company. I wanted someone who would be on my side and my mind immediately thought of Felicity. And even though it's not what she went to school for, I knew she could do it."

"And it wasn't because you hoped that spending so much time together would lead to something more?" her mom asks.

"Definitely not," Oliver replies. "Felicity is too special for a simple office affair."

"Well that's certainly something we can both agree on," her mom says.

"And on that note, we should go," Felicity interjects, jumping up. "Not that this hasn't been fun, because it hasn't, but, really, we should go."

"Felicity, don't be rude," her mom admonishes. 

"Felicity's right, Mrs. Smoak," Oliver says. "After all, I did give her the afternoon off."

"I suppose that's true," her mom agrees, standing. "It was very nice to meet you, Mr. Queen. Mr. Diggle."

"You as well," Oliver says, standing. "I hope you have a lovely weekend."

"Thank you," her mom replies as both Oliver and Diggle walk them to the elevator.

"I'm beginning to understand why you don't call as often," her mom says after the doors close.

**…**

Stating that cooking is not one of Felicity's strong suits, her mom insists on making dinner. While this is a true statement, Felicity knows it's more about her mom wanting to ask questions and not have Felicity distracted. You accidently cause one small kitchen fire and suddenly you can't be trusted in the kitchen.

"So how long have the two of you been living together?"

"A few weeks," Felicity answers.

"And were you ever planning on telling me?" her mom questions.

"Eventually."

"I hope you know I meant no disrespect earlier about dating a bartender," her mom says. "It's just that I worry about you wasting your potential, especially lately. While being an executive assistant is an excellent job, I just don't understand how you can be okay with it as someone so intent to become the head of the I.T. department last year."

"It's complicated, mom." (Understatement.)

"I was worried you only accepted the position because you had a crush on Oliver Queen," her mom continues.

(So her crush was so apparently obvious that her mom could sense it over the phone?)

"It isn't."

"I notice that you didn't deny your crush," her mom points out.

"I may have been attracted to Oliver," Felicity admits. "But it's never been anything more than that. And Oliver's never taken advantage of it."

"He does seem to care about you," her mom admits. "And even though I was upset that I found out about your new relationship on accident, I was also glad. It meant that you weren't waiting on the sidelines waiting for Oliver Queen to notice you."

Felicity sighs.

"It's just that your brother was just offered a job at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory—"

"I know, mom."

"...working directly with the Associate Laboratory Director of Fundamental and Computational Sciences."

"I _know_ , mom," Felicity repeats. "He already told me." (Bragged, actually)

"I'm just worried that you're losing your competitive edge," her mom adds.

(Felicity loves her mom, she really does, but the fact that she encourages her children to compete against each other is her least favorite thing about her childhood. She knows she should try to be more understanding, it couldn't have been easy trying to be a single mom and deal with two genius children.)

"Just because my priorities are shifting slightly, doesn't mean you should worry," Felicity tells her.

"What is that supposed to mean?" her mom questions.

"It means that Oliver is trying to use his money to make the city a better place and I'm helping him," she replies.

"And that's why you accepted the position?"

"Yes."

"I see."

Felicity sighs.

"It's just that you had so many plans when you graduated, Felicity, dear," her mom says.

"There's still plenty of time, mom," Felicity tells her. "And I'm happy. Shouldn't that matter?"

(Felicity wonders if her mom would be impressed or horrified to know the number of places she's hacked that have been declared unhackable. Marcus might be a genius with numbers, but she's a genius with technology.)

"Of course it does, dear."

**…**

Felicity's nervousness about her mom coming is not helping Sara. Though she has opened up quite a bit, Felicity still doesn't talk about her family that much beyond the basics and random childhood antidotes. Because Felicity never pushes Sara to open up about her time at Nanda Parbat, Sara hasn't really brought up Felicity's reluctance to talk about her family. Felicity is Sara's safe space, and that's made it easier for her than she thought it would be to open up about her past. However, Sara's never considered Felicity's childhood as something that her girlfriend needs to open up about. She just assumed that when Felicity eventually introduced Sara to her mom and brother, she'd learn more. But now, seeing Felicity's anxiety as Friday approaches, Sara's not sure. 

It's occupying her mind as she spars with Oliver, Thursday afternoon, which is probably why he's able to get in between her defenses a few times.

"Are you okay?" he asks after the third time.

"I'm fine."

"Because you seem distracted," he points out.

"Maybe."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really," she replies.

"Sara..."

"I'm not sure talking about Felicity with you is the best idea, Ollie," she tells him.

"Oh." He grabs a towel and tosses it to her, before grabbing another for himself. "We're still friends. We should be able to talk about these things."

"Are you sure?" she asks. "I don't want to make things tougher for you than they already are."

"What do you mean?"

"Oliver," Sara says. "Come on. I've known you for too long not to notice."

"It's fine," he replies. "I'm fine. And it doesn't mean I can't be there for you."

"You're sure?" she asks, sinking onto the mat.

"I'm sure," he tells her, joining her.

Sara sighs. "I'm worried about this weekend."

"About meeting Felicity's mom?" Oliver questions. "That's natural."

"It's more than the simple nervousness over meeting the parents though," Sara explains.

"Because of your past?"

Sara nods.

"Which is why we figured out a cover story for it," Oliver tells her. "We knew it'd be something we'd have to deal with eventually."

"You know what I find the most amazing about my relationship with Felicity?" Sara asks him.

"Um..."

"The fact that she thought she might not be enough for me," Sara says. "That because she can't flip through the air or use half a dozen weapons like you and I can, means that I wouldn't be interested."

"When there are so many things that make her extraordinary," Oliver continues. "Remarkable. Irreplaceable. Astonishi—" Obviously feeling her stare, he stops. "Well, you know."

"Exactly."

They're quiet for a long moment before Oliver says, "I'm confused. What's the problem exactly?"

"The problem is that I'm meeting Felicity's mom and I'm just a bartender who returned from the dead," Sara explains. "Did you know that Felicity's older brother is a genius too?"

"Uh, no."

Sara nods. "He has two PhDs and is doing all kinds of impressive things in government labs."

"Oh."

"And I haven't even finished college."

"That wasn't your fault," Oliver points out.

"Even if I had, I still wouldn't be at Felicity's level," Sara argues.

"But Felicity doesn't care about stuff like that," Oliver counters.

"Her mom might."

"So?" Oliver responds. "Felicity does what she wants. She always has. It's one of the things we love about her." 

"I know."

"If her mom doesn't approve, it isn't going to change anything between the two of you," Oliver adds. "That I'm sure of."

"I'm sure of it too," Sara replies. 

"Just remember that Felicity loves you, then you'll be fine," Oliver tells her. "Be the Sara she fell in love with, minus the martial arts and weapons."

"Thanks Ollie."


	15. Chapter 15

"So let me get this straight," Felicity's mom says. "Not only are you living with the woman who was lost at sea with your boss, but they also dated when she returned. Did you steal her away from him?"

"Yes," Felicity snaps, annoyed that her mom seems intent on fully dissecting her relationship. Though considering she could have waited until Sara was there—which would have been infinitely more uncomfortable than it currently is—Felicity supposes she should count her blessing.

"Oh." Apparently her mom wasn't expecting that response. "Okay then."

"Okay then? That's it? You're suddenly fine with it?"

"I will never be upset about you going after what you want," her mom replies. "As long your competitiveness is benefiting you in other ways besides your career, I'm fine. I just don't want you to lose that. I know I've always encouraged your ambition in terms of your career, but it really should be applied to all aspects of your life."

Felicity sighs. Her mom is exhausting. "Thanks I guess."

"Though I'm not sure how to take the fact that you've kept this aspect of yourself from me all these years," her mom adds.

"What aspect would that be, mom?"

"Your sexuality," her mom replies.

"I wasn't sure what to say," Felicity tells her. "And I wasn't sure you'd believe me if I wasn't actually dating a woman."

"Why wouldn't I believe you, dear? You don't lie."

"Right."

"And you're certainly not going to tell me something like that if it wasn't true," her mom continues. "I know I'm not as smart as my children are—"

"Really mom?"

"...but I'd like to think I know enough to judge the sincerity of their feelings."

"I know."

"Marcus came out to me last year, you know, and I was fine with it," her mom says.

"I didn't know he'd told you," Felicity replies. "He never mentioned it. And neither did you."

"I wasn't sure if you knew," her mom explains. "I wanted him to tell you in his own time. Just like I will with you."

"We told each other years ago, mom."

"I see."

**…**

Despite Felicity's best efforts, the awkward tension between her and her mom is still hanging in the air when Sara arrives. Sara's used to uncomfortable family dinners though, so she takes it all in stride as she introduces herself and makes small talk. So when they do sit down to eat, Felicity is feeling a bit more relaxed. (She's never been more grateful for Sara's calming presence.)

"So what else did you and Felicity do today, Mrs. Smoak?" Sara asks.

"I had Felicity take me to see her office at Queen Consolidated."

"And how was that?" Sara asks, surprise evident in her tone.

(They had all agreed that keeping Felicity's mom away from their cover stories would be the safest. The fewest amount of lies presented, the better.)

"Enlightening," her mom replies. "I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Queen and Mr. Diggle."

Sara nods. "That's nice."

"And the misfortune of meeting a Ms. Rochev," her mom concludes.

"Oh." The emotions that quickly cross Sara's face tell Felicity that her girlfriend has surmised what happened during the visit. She finally settles on polite acceptance. It makes Felicity wonder if she's expecting some backlash. "That is unfortunate."

"Mr. Queen explained it all, afterwards," her mom adds. "So I do feel a bit better, especially now that Felicity and I have discussed it a bit further."

"That's good."

"I probably shouldn't be surprised," her mom says. "Felicity always did manage to surround herself with the most interesting people."

"I can see that," Sara replies. "There's just something about her that draws a person in."

"Indeed," her mom agrees. 

Felicity braces herself for a probing, inappropriate question, but instead her mom inquires about Sara's family. It drifts into how her family reacted to her return and then on how Sara is adjusting.

Sara's answers are truthful, yet guarded. Felicity had warned her that her mom would eventually ask and at the moment, Sara seems grateful that she's been prepped. 

"So what exactly are your plans now, Sara?" her mom asks.

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"Now that you're back from the dead—"

" _Mom_."

"Surely you don't intent to be a bartender forever," her mom continues as if Felicity hadn't said anything.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure," Sara replies. "I guess I've been worrying more about adjusting to being back more than anything else."

"Do you plan on finishing college, at least?"

"Mom, let it go," Felicity tells her.

"I'm just concerned, Felicity," her mom replies. "Since you seen intent on skewing your career path, I'm simply curious what Sara's ambitions are."

"Of which she has many," Felicity retorts. "But I think we're all just enjoying the fact that she's back."

" _We_? I wasn't aware that you knew her before, dear," her mom says.

"I didn't," Felicity replies. "But I'm still enjoying the fact that she's returned. My world would be a more dismal place if she hadn't."

"Thanks," Sara says softly, taking Felicity's hand in hers.

Her mom studies them and Felicity can almost hear the gears in her head turning. Thankfully, whatever she sees allows her to change the subject to what her Felicity's brother is up to. Felicity never thought she'd be so grateful to hear how proud her mom is of her brother, but she'll gladly listen if it'll keep the focus off of Sara.

**…**

Since Felicity, and now Sara, live in a one bedroom apartment, they are currently on the couch while Felicity's mom sleeps in the bed. Having spent plenty of nights together on the couch, it feels perfectly natural now. Felicity doesn't volunteer this information when her mom protests being given the bed, though. Besides, making her mom sleep on the couch seems wrong, even if it is a pretty comfortable couch.

"If you want to move out after this, I wouldn't blame you," Felicity says quietly.

The TV's on and Felicity's pretty sure that her mom's asleep, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

"Please," Sara scoffs. "Compared to Lance family dinners, the level of awkward was _average_ at best."

"You're sure?" Felicity asks.

"Course."

"All right," Felicity says. "Though I'm going to ask you again in sixty hours and see what you say."

"You have to put up with my family all the time," Sara points out. "How is that any different?"

"Because your family knows what goes on in Staring," Felicity replies. "And your dad knows... almost everything about... you know. I try to keep my mom out of the loop as much as possible. It seems easier that way."

"It's not like she can't watch the news and find out though," Sara argues.

"Which she does on occasion, but I just try and change the subject."

"Does that work?"

"Most of the time," Felicity replies. "I don't know if it's because it really does or that she trusts me. Either way, it's just easier not to call her that much."

"I'm sorry, babe," Sara says. "That kind of sucks."

"It's fine," Felicity tells her. "There's only so much of her comparing me to my brother that I can take anyway. And since I've been quite clear about that, she just assumes that's the reason I don't call as much."

"Do you want to talk about what happened at the office?" Sara offers.

"Apparently we're both sleeping with Oliver now," Felicity replies. "Luckily, only Dig and my mom heard that comment. Oliver being there too would have been too much."

"She really does have it out for you," Sara observes. 

"I am a major obstacle in her plans," Felicity says.

"Well, I'd be glad to kidnap her and leave her out in the middle of nowhere for you," Sara states.

"Aw, you really do love me."

**…**

Felicity's mom is not what Sara was expecting. She is equal parts protective and critical of Felicity. Sara wonders if the woman's bipolar because she seems to bounce back and forth between the two quite easily and the causal way that Felicity seemed to accept this, suggests that it's a common occurrence.

Sara was amused to learn that Felicity's older brother is gay. She wonders if because he's (so obviously) the favorite, that it made it easier to accept Felicity's bisexuality because Nora had already made her peace with her son's homosexuality. Sara also wonders if that means it's genetic. Felicity thinks it has something to do with their higher IQs; something about not being bound by traditional gender roles and thinking outside the box more than others.

The fact that Felicity's mom encourages the competitiveness between the two of them interests Sara the most; she can't quite figure it out. She understands wanting to motivate children, but competing for a parent's love seems a bit extreme. Felicity claims that they're not competing for her love, just bragging rights. It doesn't seem quite fair to Sara when Marcus technically had a five year head start.

Still Felicity doesn't seem upset by it, just exasperated. She says that what Team Arrow is doing is more important than any sort of bragging rights. And that she and her brother are headed in such different directions, it's never really been a contest for her. Marcus might see it that way, but Felicity says that it's always been about doing her best, for herself, period.

It's so different than Sara's relationship with Laurel. When she was younger, she always felt a bit like she was competing with Laurel, but that was more because she was the older sister. And certainly, their parents never encouraged it. 

And now, they're almost starting all over because they've become adults in two completely separate ways. Sara feels a bit guilty. The person she's become was based on surviving, but she feels like some of the person that Laurel's become is purely because she and Oliver were presumed dead. Realizing this is a step forward for them both, but Sara still feels bad about it. She just hopes she can be the sister Laurel needs now. And that maybe in doing so, she can be there for Felicity whenever she has to deal with her family.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I f-ed up my wrist on Thursday and it kind of slowed down my typing. I'm planning on putting up part 17 later today.

Saturday passes without incident. They spend the day wandering the city, mostly letting Felicity's mom direct them. Felicity has to shush Sara several times because she keeps joking about going on the Team Arrow tour. Thankfully, her mom seems content having no plan and it's actually a fairly leisurely day.

Neither Felicity or Sara mention their relief that no sort of crisis arose. They both know it's only a matter of time until something happens, but hopefully if they don't speak of it, it won't happen. Felicity finds it odd how okay she is with the denial that they're participating in. It makes her feel like they're an even more united front than she'd realized; they've already reached a comfortable level of unspoken communication. The realization is like a warm blanket. And though she'd never say it (not even to say, because it feels jinxy), she's grateful for her mom's visit, if for the sole reason that it made her come to this conclusion.

**…**

When Sara's phone rings early Saturday morning, both she and Felicity stare at it for a moment before Sara actually answers it. Felicity knows they're over reacting a bit, but Sara's phone rarely rings.

Felicity's mom is in the bathroom, but Sara tries to keep her voice down she talks to her dad and then explains the situation to Felicity. 

"I really am sorry, babe," Sara says once she's hung up.

"I'd be worried if something didn't come up," Felicity retorts. "We'll figure something out."

"Figure what out?"

Felicity spins around to find her mom standing behind her. Caught off guard, she says the first thing that comes to mind.

"We kind of forgot that Sara has breakfast with her dad every Sunday morning. So it's just you and I, this morning, I guess."

"Well that's silly," her mom replies. "We all need to eat, why don't we have breakfast together?"

Felicity doesn't know how to respond and so she turns to her girlfriend. "Sara, what do you think of that idea?"

Sara shoots her a dirty look for putting her on the spot, but just says, "Um, let me call my dad." She then steps away an calls him back.

"Why are you two acting so strangely?" her mom asks.

"Are we?" Felicity squeaks. "I mean, um, we're not. I guess we just weren't expecting the suggestion."

"If the two of you are serious enough to move in together, I'd like to meet Sara's dad," her mom explains. "After all, I imagine that we're going to be seeing each other on occasion. Might as well introduce us now, right?"

"I suppose so," Felicity replies.

"He's going to meet us there," Sara announces when she reenters the room. "He just has to change out of his uniform."

"He's working?"

"Just finished a shift," Sara replies.

"I didn't realize," her mom says. "If he's not up to it..."

"It's fine," Sara tells her. "But it probably won't be a long, leisurely breakfast, if that's okay."

"Well, if you're sure." 

"It's fine, Mrs. Smoak."

**…**

Apparently the only way that Sara could get her dad to agree was to meet at his favorite diner. According to Detective Lance, they have the best coffee and pancakes. Sara agrees with this assessment. The three of them are already seated by the time he arrives. Introductions are only mildly awkward. They all place their order with the waitress and are then left alone to sip their coffee in silence.

"I apologize, Mr. Lance," Felicity's mom says. "I didn't mean to intrude on your father daughter bonding time. It just seemed to make sense for us to meet sooner, rather than later."

"Not at all, Mrs. Smoak," he replies. "I didn't realize you were in town. _Someone_ forgot to mention it to me."

"Sorry dad."

They make small talk as they order food and wait for it to arrive. Sara is an integral part of this, and though Detective Lance isn't throwing out topics like his daughter, he is contributing more than Felicity expected. He seems to understand what the two of them are doing. To Felicity's relief their food comes before the chit chat finishes. Sara is sitting across from her and Felicity takes her hand, squeezing it in gratitude. Sara grins in return.

The discussion then turns to Sara being back as they eat, though it Sara tries to keep it light and vague. However once her mom starts to speculate about what happened to Sara while she was gone, Felicity jumps in and does her best to steer the conversation in a different direction. 

She's successful, but not in the way she hoped.

"So Mr. Lance," her mom starts. "I'm curious about your thoughts, as a police officer, about the Vigilante."

Felicity barely manages not to spit out her coffee. Sara (Felicity assumes because of years of training) doesn't react, except to smirk at Felicity's almost spit take.

Detective Lance looks surprised. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"I just find it interesting that the general public seems to see him as a hero, but the police force does not."

"Do you think he's a hero, mom?" Felicity interjects.

"I don't believe in taking the law into your own hands, dear, you know that," her mom replies. 

"Right. Of course."

"Officially," Detective Lance says. "The Starling City police do not support the actions of the Vigilante. We have a justice system and laws that need to be followed."

"And unofficially?"

Detective Lance glances Felicity's way and she answers for him.

"Unofficially, anyone who fights to keep the streets of Starling City safe is a good thing," she says.

"I suppose that's true," her mom allows. "Still, what's to stop this so called Vigilante from making things worse? And how do you really know that he's trying to keep the streets safe?"

"We don't," Felicity replies. "But the Vigilante really does seem to be making a difference, to do good and make the city safer."

"You think he's a hero," her mom accuses.

"I do," Felicity nods. "Someone's out there trying to do good. We should all be like that."

"I see."

Sara quickly jumps in and tells an amusing story from her childhood. From the look on Detective Lance's face, it's one that's been told often and so he joins in, adding his own observations and memories. Felicity smiles gratefully at him as she squeezes Sara's hand in thanks. There's a reason that she wanted to avoid the topic of the Vigilante. The others assumed it was to avoid lying to her mom about being involved, which was part of it. But it was mostly because Felicity didn't want to hear the indirect disapproval of her choices from her mom. They've disagreed for as long as Felicity can remember about things being black and white versus the gray areas.

When the table lapses into silence, Sara looks towards Felicity, a question in her eyes. Felicity nods her head in reply, hoping that she's reading her girlfriend right about asking permission to bring up Marcus, a topic that Felicity would normally avoid. Those doubts are wiped away when Sara asks about her brother's new job and once again Felicity marvels at the silent communication between them.

To Felicity's relief, the topic of Marcus sustains the conversation until the meal is finished and the check is paid.

"It was nice meeting you," Detective Lance tells Felicity's mom.

"You as well," her mom replies. "I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again soon."

Detective Lance just nods.

"I'll see you later, babe," Sara says to Felicity, giving her a quick kiss.

"You're not coming with us?" her mom asks.

"No," Felicity replies. "Sara usually spends Sundays with her dad."

"Oh. That's nice."

"I'm grateful that she still wants to spend time with the old man," Detective Lance adds.

"Well then, we'll see you later."

"So what do you want to do now, mom?"

"I think we should go back to your apartment," her mom replies.

"If that's what you want," Felicity sighs, knowing that all the conversation topics her mom wants to discuss are things she'd rather not.

"Do you always pay for your girlfriend's meals, dear?" her mom asks, as they climb into Felicity's car.

"What exactly are you implying, mom?"

"Nothing, dear, nothing at all."

Felicity just shakes her head and starts the car.

**…**

So an old CI of her dad's told him last night that there's a large shipment of guns coming in tonight. Because he used to be a drug addict, he wasn't the most reliable source her dad has had. However, he's cleaned up his act and his information has been much more trustworthy lately. The problem is that her dad's superiors don't seem to care and put absolutely no stock in the tip. But because he does, her dad had contacted her in hopes that the Vigilante could help out instead.

Sara explains the situation to Oliver and they, along with Diggle, plan it out. She spends the afternoon in the basement, figuring it's easier to just stay away, rather than having to try and explain why she needs to leave again. Felicity agrees with this sentiment as they discuss it through texts.

The shipment is supposed to come in around midnight. It's decided that it'll be easier if the truck makes it to the warehouse; Oliver, Diggle and Roy each pick a place around the building while Sara finds a place to lurk nearby.

According to the source, there will be two guys in the truck, two guys with guns guarding the door and two other guys to help unload the truck. The plan is to subdue everyone and then leave them tied up in the back of the truck and leave it somewhere out in the open to be found by the police.

They're able to figure out the route the truck will be taking and when it's within a block of the warehouse, Sara leaves her perch and lands on the trailer of the truck. It's in an area with plenty of pot holes, so Sara hopes that the two guys in the truck will assume the noise is from that. The truck never pauses and Sara lets out a sigh of relief as it approaches the warehouse.

The moment the truck is parked, Oliver and Diggle are dealing with the guards while Roy takes out the two guys waiting to unload the guns. Meanwhile, Sara waits for the muscle in the truck to climb out. She knocks him out easily enough, but this makes the driver exit much more cautious.

She's able to disarm him and its tying him up when she hears a gun cocking behind her. It echoes loudly in the warehouse and she slowly turns around.

There's a door at the top of a flight of metal stairs near the entrance and a very nervous guy in a disheveled dress shirt has a gun pointed at her.

"Drop the gun!" Oliver yells, his bow aimed.

"You drop your bow!" he shouts back. "I'll shoot her before you can shoot me."

"True," Oliver agrees. "But I'm willing to bet my aim is better."

He glances around frantically and sees that he's surrounded; Diggle has a gun pointed at him and Roy is posed to attack at the foot of the stairs.

"If I'm going to die, I'm not going to do it alone," he retorts.

"We're not going to kill you dumbass," Roy scoffs.

Despite the direness of the situation, Sara tries to hide a smirk. She can just imagine how much Oliver is currently fuming.

"We're just going to turn you into the police," Oliver adds.

"How is that any better?"

"Well you won't be dead," Roy tells him.

Sara wonders if Diggle is having as much trouble not laughing as she is. She also wonders if she should be so causal when there's a gun pointed at her.

"Just put the gun down and let the bonehead—"

" _Hey_."

"...tie your hands behind your back," Oliver says. "Then you and your buddies here—"

"You mean the ones you killed?"

"They're not dead, just unconscious."

"I didn't want to do this," he tells them, a bit of desperation creeping into his voice. "They made me, gave me no choice."

"Which you can explain to your lawyer and he can help you," Diggle says.

"I can't go to jail, I can't," he exclaims, his grip on the gun (and trigger) tightening.

Sara is impressed with Roy's stealth. He's halfway up the stairs and if Oliver and Diggle can keep him distracted just a bit longer, he should be able to take the guy down with minimal injuries.

"Look," Oliver says, trying to keep his attention. "If they are mitigating circumstances, maybe you can get away with probation. I mean, if you can't killed anyone and you were coerced, that's something a judge would understand."

"Also," Roy interjects, now right next to the guy. "The safety's on."

He's so startled that he drops the gun and Roy knocks him unconscious.

"Was that really necessary?" Oliver shouts.

Roy shrugs. "Just seems easier."

Sara goes to double check her knots on the guys she pulled out of the truck and ends up with a knife in her arm. While they'd been distracted by the nervous guy on the stairs, the driver had managed to sneak a knife out of his boot. She'd been in the middle of frisking him when the cocking of the gun had distracted her.

She knocks him unconscious while berating herself for not doing it sooner. She then rips off part of his shirt and calls for some help. She knows she'll be able to pull the knife out, but wrapping her arm one handed will definitely prove to be a bit difficult.

While a grumbling Oliver and quiet Roy begin putting everyone in the back of the rig, Diggle helps Sara wrap her arm.

"So how pissed do you think Felicity's going to be?" Sara asks.

"None of us expected that guy to be there," Diggle replies. 

"I shouldn't have put so much trust in one of dad's informants, though," Sara argues. "I should know better."

"He was right about everything else," Diggle points out. "Is that too tight?"

Sara shakes her head.

"Just another scar for the collection, right?"

"Her mom's still here," Sara says. "How the hell am I going to explain this?"

"We'll figure something out," Oliver tells her, joining them.

Diggle looks around, obviously expecting Roy to be behind him.

"He's duct taping them," Oliver answers the unspoken question. "He insisted. You should go. He and I can take care of dumping the truck."

"I'm fine," Sara insists.

"We've got to figure out what to tell Felicity's mom," Diggle reminds her. "You and I can work on that."

Sara rolls her eyes. "I feel like I'm in high school, trying to sneak past my dad."

"Good," Diggle replies. "Then you should have a wealth of ideas."

The truck's horn sounds and Oliver spins around looking pissed.

"He's like the little brother I never wanted," Oliver growls before stalking over to join Roy who's sitting behind the wheel.

"It's like Roy's daring Ollie to kill him," Sara says as she stands.

"I think it's payback for shooting him with an arrow," Diggle replies.


	17. Chapter 17

Felicity manages to sleep for a few hours, but her worry about Sara makes her restless. She knows that her girlfriend is fine, Sara wouldn't lie to her about that, but until she can see her, touch her and _know_ that she's just fine, Felicity will worry. She's also gotten used to sleeping with Sara's reassuring presence next to her, whether it be on the couch or in bed. It surprises Felicity how quickly she's gotten used to sleeping next to Sara.

At least she's used to surviving on minimal sleep.

She's up and ready for the day making coffee when her mom wakes up.

"Morning," Felicity greets.

"Good morning," her mom replies. "Is Sara in the bathroom?"

"No, it's all yours," Felicity tells her, bracing herself for what's coming next.

Instead, her mom simply nods and goes into the bathroom to get ready.

Felicity uses the time alone to text Sara. She doubts her girlfriend is awake, but she just can't help but check in.

To her surprise, the phone rings a moment later.

"Hello?"

"Hey babe."

"I didn't wake you, did I?" Felicity questions.

"Couldn't sleep."

"I thought it wasn't that bad," Felicity says.

"It's not," Sara assures her. "I just... I missed you is all."

Felicity hears muffled noises in the background and then Sara hissing, " _Shut up_."

"Everything okay?"

"It's fine," Sara replies. "Olllie's just being an ass."

"Because you're just a big ole fluffy marshmallow." Oliver's voice suddenly interjects.

" _Go away_."

"As amusing as this is," Felicity chuckles. "I should go before my mom comes out of the bathroom."

"If you have to..."

"See you soon."

Felicity puts down her phone and knocks on the bathroom door. "Mom do you want some eggs?"

"Just a bagel, dear."

Back in the kitchen, Felicity scrambles herself some eggs and toasts a bagel for her mom. As her mom exits the bathroom, Felicity sets the plates on the table and pours them both coffee.

As Felicity eats her eggs, she prepares herself for the questioning. She hopes it begins soon; the anticipation is killing her.

"So where did Sara run off to so early?" her mom asks. "It's barely seven."

"She crashed at her dad's last night," Felicity replies.

"I thought she lived here now," her mom says.

"She does," Felicity assures her. "But she didn't want to wake you by coming in too late, since you have an early flight."

"I see," her mom says. "I can't believe that she would have to work on a Sunday night."

"The club is open every night," Felicity explains.

"And you're sure that she didn't go home with some handsome customer?" her mom questions.

"Sara wouldn't do that."

"Are you sure? Isn't that how she ended up on that boat in the first place?"

"That was a long time ago, mom," Felicity replies. "A lot has happened since then. And people change."

"I certainly hope so, for your sake, dear," her mom says.

Felicity finishes her eggs, keeping her eyes on her plate. But feeling a bit desperate, she texts Diggle once she's cleaned up breakfast and requests that he drive them to the airport.

His response is simply _**?**_.

Felicity grins. _My mom is driving me crazy and I'll take any reprise from being alone with her, no matter how brief._

_Fair enough._

Feeling a bit more relaxed, Felicity turns to her mom, who is using Felicity's tablet to check her email.

"Mr. Diggle is going to drive us to the airport," she says.

"Is he?" her mom questions. "Why?"

"So I don't have to park at the airport while I wait with you for your flight," Felicity replies.

"All right, dear."

**…**

Despite their covers, Felicity admits that she sometimes forgets that Diggle really did use to be a bodyguard. She tries to hide her surprise as she watches him be the consummate professional as he drives to the airport. His dry sense of humor seems to charm her mom in a way that Felicity never expected. It helps keep the focus off Felicity, and more importantly, Sara's absence, to Felicity's immense relief. (Which is surprising, because Felicity fully expected that her mom would grill Diggle about Sara. Perhaps it just didn't occur to her and Felicity's not going to question it.)

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Felicity says as she exits the car.

Diggle grins. "Text me when you're done?"

"You are the best, Dig, seriously," she tells him. "I totally owe you."

"Oh, I know," he smirks. "But I'm glad that you remember too."

They get her mom checked in, get some coffee and sit at a table.

"I can't believe how quickly this weekend has gone," her mom says.

Felicity nods, not trusting herself to agree out loud.

"It's been nice getting to see some of your life here," her mom continues.

Felicity nods again.

"You're awfully quiet this morning, dear," her mom observes. "Anything you need to share?"

"It was nice to see you, too," Felicity replies.

"Why do I have the feeling there's something you're not telling me?" her mom questions.

"What makes you say that?"

Her mom eyes Felicity for a long moment. "You'd tell me if there was anything, wrong, wouldn't you dear?"

"There's nothing wrong, mom," Felicity assures her.

"I'm glad you have someone, dear," her mom says. "And you seem happy."

"But..." Felicity prompts.

Her mom sighs. "I'm sorry, dear, there's just something about Sara that... I don't know. She's hiding something. I'm sure she went through a lot being lost at sea or whatever, but are you sure that she's telling you everything?"

"I'm sure she's not," Felicity replies, ignoring her mom's look of surprise. "But I do know that she will when she's ready."

"I see."

"I know the important things, mom," Felicity continues. "You've always said that I have good instincts about people. That hasn't changed. I love Sara. Can't you at least trust that?"

"You know I'm just looking out for you, dear, right?"

"I just wish you'd trust me as much as you seem to trust Marcus," Felicity tells her. "Is it because he's older? Or because he's a guy?" Or because he's her favorite, but Felicity tries not to dwell on that.

"I do trust you, Felicity, dear," her mom replies. "I just had some concerns about your recent career choices. But if you're shifting your... focus, as you've explained, then I guess I'll just have to trust you."

"It would be appreciated."

"As long as you're sure."

"I am," Felicity replies.

"Just be careful, dear."

"I'll do my best."

**…**

Once her mom is on the plane, Felicity texts Diggle and heads outside to wait for him. It's not a long wait, making Felicity believe that he wasn't that far away. She doesn't question it, just appreciates it.

He informs Felicity that Sara decided to head back to the apartment once she knew for sure that Felicity's mom is gone. He doesn't ask if that's where Felicity wants to go, just heads in that direction.

"How is she really?" Felicity asks Diggle as he drives.

"She's fine, Felicity," he replies. "Really."

"Just because she's learned to deal with pain, doesn't mean that her injuries aren't serious," Felicity insists.

"I agree," Diggle tells her. "But she'll be okay."

"Good," Felicity says. "So am I going to get the real story of what happened from her? I mean, I already know she's going to down play it. And so it's really a question of how much is she going to down play it."

"There were a few surprises," Diggle explains. "But we handled them. And it could have been worse."

"That's almost always true, Dig," Felicity reminds him. "So I don't find that particularly comforting." 

"Just talk to Sara," Diggle replies. "As long as you stay calm, I'm sure you'll get the whole story."

"You're not reassuring me, Diggle," she tells him.

"Sorry."

"And thanks again for all your help this weekend," Felicity says, needing a topic change. "It really helped."

"You're welcome, though I don't think I did that much."

"I knew you'd help keep everyone in line," Felicity replies. "Since I wasn't there to do it."

Diggle grins. "You think Oliver will ever realize who's really in charge?"

Felicity grins back.

"You did miss an extra snarky Roy last night," Diggle says.

"What does that mean?"

"Sara and I have a bet on how long it's going to take Oliver to threaten to shoot him with an arrow again," Diggle replies. "He was full of attitude and sarcasm."

"That's true every day," Felicity points out.

"Yeah," Diggle agrees. "But usually he doesn't do it while on a mission."

"I wish I could have been there to hear it," Felicity laughs. "I might have to get in on that bet."

**…**

Sara doesn't sleep well. She could blame it on the throbbing in her arm; and while it's extremely uncomfortable, it's not really the reason she can't sleep. Even though it was only a few months ago that she was spending the night in the basement, it feels infinitely more lonely, despite Oliver's presence. She wants to resent the fact that he's there, but she can't. If only because he's not doing it for her, but for Felicity. And Sara can endure plenty if it makes Felicity happy.

Still she feels an immense amount of relief when she receives the text from Diggle saying that he's pulling up in front of Felicity's apartment. That means that Felicity's mom will be gone soon and Sara can go home and sleep in her bed.

Her dad calls as she's on her way back to the apartment.

"Just wanted to let you know that someone called in the truck."

"Good, one less thing to worry about," Sara says.

"Felicity's mom get off okay?"

"I assume so," she replies.

"What does that mean?" he asks after a few beats.

Sara winces. She hadn't planned on letting him know that she'd been hurt last night. "Uh, it just means that they're at the airport," she answers. 

"All right," he says. "You didn't go with them?"

"No, that hardly seems necessary," Sara replies.

"I guess that's true," he agrees. "And yet, I feel like there's something I'm missing."

"What makes you say that?" Sara asks.

Her dad sighs. "How badly were you hurt?"

"Barely a flesh wound," Sara assures him.

He sighs again. "Somehow I doubt that. But you're fine?"

"I am," she nods.

"All right," he says. "We'll talk later then."

"Thanks dad."

The moment that Sara's in the apartment, she lets out a sigh of relief. Dropping her things on the kitchen counter, she stumbles into the bedroom and collapses on the bed. 

When she wakes up, she's under the covers and there's a familiar warmth next to her. Sara lifts her head and blinks sleepily at the blurry image of Felicity next to her, doing work on her tablet.

"Hey," she husks, voice still full of sleep.

Felicity grins. "Hi there sleeping beauty."

Sara feels herself flush at that and tries to sit up.

"Stop that," Felicity admonishes. "No need to get up yet."

"How long have I been asleep?" Sara asks.

"Five hours or so, I'm guessing."

"Seriously?"

Felicity nods. "You needed it."

"It's not that bad of a wound," Sara assures her.

"Good to know," Felicity replies. "But that's not what I meant."

"Oh?"

"Well, I don't know about you," Felicity says. "But I had a bit of trouble sleeping last night—"

"I didn't mean to make you worry," Sara interjects.

"I always worry," Felicity replies. "It's just what we do, right?"

Sara nods.

"And that's not exactly what I meant," Felicity says. "I meant that I missed you."

Sara grins.

"And I know you missed me," Felicity continues. "So I'm assuming you probably slept just as much as I did last night."

"Then why aren't you napping with me?" Sara asks.

"I did," Felicity answers. "I slept for a couple hours, actually. I just woke up an hour ago. Thought I'd work on some things I didn't get to this weekend."

"Oh. Huh."

"So are you going to tell me what happened last night?"

"Like I said, it's not that bad of a wound," Sara says.

"Wiggle your fingers."

"What?"

"Wiggle your fingers," Felicity repeats.

Sara does, and though she doesn't grimace, her fingers don't move as quickly as she'd like.

"Uh huh," Felicity says. "So what happened?"

She recounts the story the best she can, trying not to leave out details because she knows that will just annoy Felicity. She finishes with Diggle cleaning and rebandaging the wound as they come up with the plan that Sara shouldn't go back to the apartment.

"So how much trouble am I in?" Sara asks, after Felicity stays quiet.

"New rule," Felicity finally says.

Sara waits.

"Everyone gets knock unconscious," Felicity tells her. 

"I suppose that's one solution," Sara chuckles. "So you're not mad?"

"It wasn't entirely your fault," Felicity replies. "If that guy'd just waited thirty more seconds."

"My thoughts exactly," Sara agrees.

They lapse into silence and Sara eventually has to ask, "Did you mom have a good weekend?"

Felicity shrugs. "I suppose so. It's difficult to tell with her."

"Well, at least she doesn't seem too suspicious," Sara says.

"Actually she is a little bit," Felicity replies.

"What? But we were so careful," Sara protests.

"She thinks you're hiding something," Felicity tells her.

"She's not wrong."

"Except that she's worried that you're hiding something that's going to hurt me," Felicity says.

"Again, she's not wrong," Sara retorts.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I just meant that you're going to get hurt again because, you know, Team Arrow," Sara explains. "We both know that you're going to jump in or volunteer for something and you're going to get hurt. Maybe not next time, but it's bound to happen again."

"Thanks, I guess."

"I'm trying to be realistic, babe," Sara replies. "Realizing this is helping me be okay with the amount of times you're in danger."

"Oh."

"Now we just have to figure out how to help you not worry so much about me," Sara adds.

"It would help if you'd stop getting hurt," Felicity retorts.

"I'll try to do better," Sara assures her.

"Promise?"

"Promise." Sara grins. "So. You. Me. In a bed with a few hours to kill. Whatever should we do?"

"What about your arm?" Felicity asks, as she turns her tablet off and sets it aside.

"I guess we'll just have to get creative."


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so first off, huge apologies for how freaking long it's been. I'm pretty much the worst at finishing things. Second, this is finished and as an apology, multiple parts will be posted together. Third, I added Slade into the mix. However, I didn't address every issue related to him, like Sebastian Blood or Isabel Rochev, because honestly, if I did, I probably never would have finished this.

The next couple weeks pass in a whirlwind of trying to balance Felicity's day job with her night life. There's been a lot of extra activity at night and Oliver's presence is required (it seems) constantly at Queen Consolidated lately, as if everyone knows his focus is split and they're forcing him to make a choice.

But at this point, she, Oliver and Diggle have a good system worked out to handle everything. And with Sara and Roy there as well, they're able to handle things just fine.

**…**

Felicity is running late. The night before had been particularly long and so everything this morning just seemed to take longer. However, Oliver is never on time, so at least Felicity doesn't have to worry about beating him in, but at the same time, she had wanted to get in a bit early to work on things she's been neglecting this week (the balancing act requires a lot of give and take for each job). Just because she didn't necessarily want to be Oliver's executive assistant, doesn't mean that she's not going to do her job well.

She hears the ding of the elevator doors closing and scrambles to catch it, her heels clicking hastily and forcefully in the hollow, early morning emptiness. She's not fast enough and she lets out a groan of frustration as the doors have slid nearly shut. And then an arm shoots out and the doors pop open again.

"Thanks," Felicity says, stepping into the elevator.

She's not sure who she was expecting to also be in the elevator this early, but it definitely hadn't been a tall muscular imposing figure with an eye patch.

"You're welcome," he smiles. "Always glad to assist a beautiful woman."

She smiles back and then glances at the buttons, noticing that he's going to the same floor as she is. She thinks over Oliver's schedule. He doesn't have any meetings until this afternoon. Is it possible that she forgot something? Actually it's more likely that Oliver forgot to tell her something, she realizes. 

When the elevator dings for her floor, he ensures that the doors stay open for her. She thanks him again and decides to just ask as they walk towards the office.

"Did you have an appointment with Mr. Queen?" she asks.

"No, actually," he replies as he pushes the glass door open for her. "I had some free time this morning, so I thought I'd stop by and see if he was free."

"Oh," Felicity says as she walks to her desk. "And you are?"

"Mr. Wilson," he replies. "Slade Wilson. I guess you could call me an old friend."

"Well, Mr. Queen isn't due for another hour," Felicity tells him. "You're welcome to wait if you'd like." She gestures to the couch as she approaches her desk.

"Thank you," he says, taking a seat. "I'll try not to be too distracting."

Felicity smiles at him and begins her morning ritual of checking emails and messages and the time passes quickly. When she looks up, the hour has nearly passed and there's still no sign of Oliver. Considering he has no impending meetings, it's not surprising, but Felicity really had hoped that Oliver would be in on time. Not just because of Mr. Wilson's presence; after all, Isabel Rachev can and will show up at anytime. And though she's getting used to the surprise visits, Felicity hates trying to come up for excuses for Oliver—especially to Rachev.

"My apologies, Mr. Wilson," Felicity says, glancing at the clock in the corner of her computer screen. "I'm sure he'll be here any moment."

Mr. Wilson waves off her concern. "Please call me, Slade, Ms. ..."

"Smoak. Felicity Smoak," she supplies.

He smiles. "Ms. Smoak. And please don't worry. The Oliver I know wasn't the most reliable. It's no surprise to me that he's running late."

Felicity's curiosity is further piqued by this statement. She makes a mental note to investigate how Oliver and Slade Wilson know each other a bit later.

"Well can I at least get you anything to drink? Coffee, perhaps?"

"No thank you," he replies. "I'm sure you have much more important things to be doing."

The glass door swings open and Oliver, upon noticing Slade, is suddenly on edge and the tension in the room rises tenfold.

"Uh, Mr. Wilson here," Felicity says, standing, hoping to halt Oliver's obvious impending anger. "Was hoping for a few moments."

"I see," Oliver grounds out, before turning towards Slade. "Have you been waiting long?"

"An hour or so," he grins, standing. "It's no matter since, your assistant is excellent company." He offers his hand to Oliver. "It's been quite a while."

Oliver reluctantly shakes his hand and there's a brief glowering contest before they release each other's hand.

"I hope you don't mind my stopping by unannounced," Slade says. "I was in the neighborhood."

"Not at all," Oliver replies, stepping towards his office. "Shall we talk in my office?"

Slade nods and follows Oliver inside.

While the glass office isn't sound proof, Felicity knows that it'll be unlikely that she'll be able to hear anything, so she decides to find out when Oliver and Wilson may have met.

But then the intercom clicks on. She waits for a request from Oliver for coffee (because what else could it be about?), but instead, she hears the beginning of Oliver and Slade's conversation.

"...always surrounding yourself with beautiful women."

"Leave my assistant out of this," Oliver growls.

"So protective," Slade chuckles. "Is she aware of how you spend your nights? Of the lives you've ruined while pretending to do what is right? Oh, that's right, she's one of the lives you're ruining."

"What do you want?" Oliver grinds out.

"Same thing I've always wanted, kid," Slade answers jovially. "You haven't forgotten, have you?"

Oliver doesn't reply.

"Though I will admit," Slade continues. "After watching you these past few weeks, I've decided to take a different approach than I first planned."

"And what would that be?"

Oliver's the angriest Felicity's ever heard and she fights the urge to turn and watch their interaction.

"All these people in your life now," Slade says. "Isn't it nice that you've got a team of your own, after ruining mine. She and I were a team, you know."

"I do."

"And since you destroyed mine, I'm going to destroy yours," he declares. He pauses. "Your assistant out there... I'm curious if she'd still trust you, still want to be on your team, knowing how easily you betray people, how you let people down."

"Ivo is the one who killed Shado, Slade," Oliver argues.

"And you're the reason the gun was pointed at her," Slade counters. "You betrayed us both and now—"

The glass door from the hall swings open and Felicity quickly shuts off the intercom.

"Thea, hello," Felicity greets, a bit too enthusiastically.

"Felicity, hi," Thea replies. "I was hoping that Oliver might have some time to talk."

Felicity glances into the office. If she hadn't heard the conversation, she would really still think it was still two old friends catching up. "Uh... he should... after."

Thea looks into the office. "I can wait." She takes a seat on the couch. "So I hear that you and Sara are doing well."

"We are," Felicity agrees. "But how..."

"Roy, if you can believe it."

"I can, actually," Felicity blurts out and then quickly covers her mouth. "Uh, what I meant was—"

"It's okay," Thea laughs. "I was curious, so I asked him. I hope that was okay."

"Oh. Yeah, sure."

"And Sara seems happy," Thea continues. "More settled than when she was with Oliver."

"Oh, well, that's probably because... uh..."

"There's too much history between them, I think," Thea says, leaning back and settling onto the couch more. "Plus, Laurel..."

Felicity nods, not knowing what else to say.

"It's probably better that Oliver takes some time to figure some things out."

"I guess."

Oliver's office door swings open and a smirking Slade steps out with a grim looking Oliver behind him.

"I'm sure we'll be talking again soon, kid," Slade says.

Oliver doesn't reply, having noticed Thea and Felicity sees real fear in his eyes.

Following Oliver's line of sight, Slade turns. "And who is this?" he inquires.

"Thea Queen," Thea replies, standing. "And you are?"

"Slade Wilson," he tells her. "I'm an... old friend of your brother's." He shakes her hand. "It's been a real pleasure to meet you." He turns to Oliver. "I'll let you and your sister talk." He smacks Oliver on the back and walks towards the doors. "And it was lovely meeting you, Ms. Smoak."

Not sure what to think of that, Felicity just nods.

The glass door swings shut and Oliver turns to Thea, obviously trying not to seem to irritated by her horrible timing. "What brings you by?" he asks.

"We need to talk," she replies, pushing past him and into his office.

"Of course," he says, following her.

To Felicity's shock, the intercom once again turns on. And she is able to hear Thea question Oliver about the coldness between him and their mother.

Felicity feels bad, knowing that it's partly her fault, but also admitting to herself that Oliver had to know. There are too many secrets in the Queen family. And while she doesn't agree, it's also not her choice to make. She risked enough, telling Oliver. Telling Thea would probably drive Mrs. Queen to have her killed.

The argument between the siblings is heated and brief and Felicity quickly shuts off the intercom when it seems that Thea is storming out.

"It was nice seeing you, Felicity," Thea says as she walks out.

"You too," Felicity manages before Thea is gone completely.

And then a resigned looking Oliver is in front of her.

"Bad morning?" Felicity asks, not sure what else to say.

He ignores her. "Do Sara and Roy work tonight?"

Felicity nods. 

"We all need to talk," he says.

"You still have a meeting with—"

"When?"

"Two."

"We have time," Oliver tells her, checking the time. "Can you call them?"

"Uh, sure."

Oliver nods and then heads back into his office. 

Picking up the phone to call the others, Felicity watches Oliver walk over to the windows and stare out. Knowing she's missing plenty, she does her best to explain to the other what's going on.

**…**

Oliver's silence as they drive towards the lair is very unsettling. Diggle keeps glancing Felicity's way, his eyes full of questions, but Felicity has no answers to give.

Roy and Sara are already there when they arrive.

"Might as well make yourselves comfortable," Oliver says. "You're going to want to be sitting down." This is said directly to Sara and now Felicity feels real fear washing over her.

Already in Felicity's chair, Sara pulls Felicity onto her lap as the others settle in.

"I had an interesting visitor this morning," Oliver starts. "Slade Wilson."

Sara's arms that had been loosely around Felicity's waist, tightened considerably at this statement.

"I thought you killed him," Sara says.

"So did I."

"What does he want?" Sara questions.

"For me to be as alone as he is," Oliver replies.

Sara's embrace around Felicity tightens even more.

"Who the hell is Slade Wilson?" Roy asks.

Oliver sighs and briefly explains how he met Slade and Shado, of how he and Sara eventually met up and why Slade has a grudge against him. Felicity has a feeling that he's leaving _a lot_ of things out (because did he really just summarize those two traumatic years of his life in under three minutes?) and a glance towards Diggle tells her that she's not the only one.

"So what?" Roy questions, once Oliver's done. "He's going to try and kill us all? Because some of us are pretty difficult to kill."

Felicity chuckles as Oliver glares at Roy.

"I'm not sure that it's that simple," Sara says. "He wants Oliver to suffer and while killing all of us would do that, I'm not sure that being killed should be our only concern."

"Good, I hate it when I only have to worry about dying," Diggle says.

"What about Thea?" Roy asks.

"Yeah," Felicity agrees. "Thea meeting him today can't be good."

This sets Roy on edge and Felicity watches him try not to explode, his fists clenching and unclenching over and over again.

"Not to mention, Laurel," Sara adds.

"I can get people to watch her," Diggle offers. "Your mother and Thea too."

Oliver grimaces. "Let's hope that the tension between my mother and I will be enough for him."

"You ever going to explain that?" Roy asks.

Oliver glares at him again.

"Course not," Roy retorts, backing down. "Forgot who I was talking to for a sec."

Felicity awkwardly—because she's still on Sara's lap and her girlfriend is refusing to let go—spins her chair around. "So let's get this figured out."

**…**

Learning that Slade Wilson is still alive doesn't completely surprise Sara like it does Oliver. Instead she's plagued with fear for the others and Felicity. She's seen Slade's determination in action. She's also torn between wanting to protect Laurel and needing to stay with Felicity. Learning that Slade's been watching them for weeks convinces them that Felicity's probably in more danger than Laurel and so Diggle begins the process of finding people to discretely follow Laurel and her dad.

Sara wishes she could tell her sister something, but with her returning to the DA's office, Laurel has enough to worry about. Besides, what would Sara even tell her?

Instead she focuses on a way to fight back. At Felicity's request, Sara takes a sample of Roy's blood, hoping it can be used to make a cure for the Mirakuru. Then she escorts Felicity to S.T.A.R. Labs where she talks to people about creating a cure. It seems like a long shot, but without knowing Slade's plan, they really only have long shots.


	19. Chapter 19

No matter how much he pleads, there are only so many things that Felicity can justifiably get Oliver out of. Because he's still the CEO of Queen Consolidated, there are some duties that are just unavoidable.

Felicity is there as well as his assistant and Diggle as his bodyguard because they have to keep up appearances.

Sara is having dinner with Laurel, celebrating her first day back at the DA's office. Felicity's glad and hopes it means that Sara might relax a bit for the evening. Ever since she heard that Slade Wilson took an interest in Felicity as Oliver's assistant, she's barely left Felicity's side. Hopefully a night of sisterly bonding will help. Oliver's making the rounds when Felicity notices Roy. Surprised, she looks around for Thea, presuming that she is the reason he's there.

Felicity alerts Diggle first, knowing that Oliver will be livid that his little sister is at this function being sponsored by Slade Wilson.

Roy notices them first and tries to steer Thea away, but it's too late. Thea is heading their way.

"Ollie," Thea greets. "I'm surprised to see you here."

Oliver grimaces. "I could say the same about you."

"I was personally invited by Mr. Wilson," Thea explains. "As a member of the business community. But you? I've heard it takes quite a bit to get you to one of these."

"Slade invited you personally?" Oliver questions.

Thea nods. "He said taking over the club... well, it showed true entrepreneurial spirit and he insisted that I attend."

"Of course he did."

Thea studies him, warily. "When you're ready to talk about what's bothering you, I'll be glad to have my brother back." She grabs Roy's hand. "But we really should mingle now. Nice to see you, Felicity. Diggle." And then she drags Roy back into the sea of people.

**…**

Oliver's mood has gone from bad to worse and Felicity wonders how much longer they'll be staying. If Oliver was any tenser, Felicity's pretty sure there'd be steam coming from his ears.  
It's why she's almost relieved when she receives a call from Detective Lance.

He apologizes about calling, but it seems that the Arrow's presence is needed. She gets the necessary information and pulls Oliver aside. After a bit of discussion, it's decided that she, Dig and Roy will take care of it.

Though she agrees, Felicity still worries. Oliver is extremely high strung and leaving him seems dangerous.

"I know how to contain my temper, Felicity," he assures her.

"Just try not to make a scene with them," Felicity tells him.

He nods and Felicity weaves through the crowd to get Roy. It's an effort to find him, but all it takes is eye contact for him to nod in understanding. She weaves back through the crowd and finds Diggle. Once Roy joins them, Felicity explains the situation. Roy wonders about Sara, but it's decided that the fewer of them involved the better—if only because their absences will (hopefully) be less conspicuous. Besides, the knowledge that Slade has started his game (the invitation to both Oliver and Thea being his obvious first move), means that Sara would most likely be unwilling to just abandon Laurel.

Once Roy and Diggle arrive at the scene, it's obvious that it's Slade who's pulling the strings of this crime. The threat is real; hostages being helded by an obviously Mirakuru fueled madman. But Roy's able to fight him while Diggle frees the hostages. Once it's just the three of them, they're able to hit him with enough tranquilizers to take him down.

The worry then becomes what happens when he wakes up. Hopefully, they have time to come up with a solution. Meanwhile, Felicity does her best to explain the situation to Detective Lance. He's skeptical, but agrees to keep the suspect under maximum security while he's sedated.

Felicity makes a mental note to come up with a more plausible story with Oliver and Sara's help that can be spun later.

**…**

Later that night Sara isn't pleased that she wasn't called in to help. Felicity explains the reasons behind it, as well how easily the situation was dealt with. And though Sara obviously isn't happy about it, she doesn't do much except grumble. It's unexpected because while Sara seems to be coming to terms with Felicity occasionally being in danger, Felicity also knows that Slade's appearance and plan have thrown her for a loop, making her extremely worried. 

Not that she's said anything, but it's been in almost everything Sara's done lately. From the way Sara's eyes track Felicity across the lair (It had been full of love and fondness before. Now it's full of love and fear.), to the way the fall asleep at night (Sara's hold is just a little tighter and a little more tense, prepared to jump up and defend them both—from what, Felicity's not sure). Felicity wishes she could reassure Sara, but she's not sure how; especially since it's been stated numerous times by both Oliver and Sara, that Slade's vengeance is a relentless and focused. According to them, there is nothing that can be done to deter him. And while Felicity is worried and scared, she knows there's nothing she can do, but continue as they have before. And as she drifts off to sleep, she realizes that this fact is more comforting than she'd first thought. 

**…**

Though she understands, Sara still wishes that Felicity had called her. She also can't believe that Oliver agreed to stay back. The two of them are the only ones who really understand how dangerous Slade is. Maybe now the others will as well since he played them all perfectly, keeping Oliver out of the fray to protect Thea while unleashing someone under the influence of Mirakuru. In a way, Roy being dosed as well is working in their favor for the moment.

Someone infected with the Mirakuru might be the best bet to take someone else also infected out; though even that isn't a guarantee.

As she lays in bed, Felicity sleeping pressed against her, Sara worries that she's finally gotten to the point where she's mostly okay with how much danger they're constantly in and how Felicity will always be willing to volunteer. But Slade and his vengeance is creating a whole new type of fear. Knowing that he's been watching them—is probably still watching them—is unnerving in a way that she hasn't felt in a long time. If Slade's been watching them, he knows how important Felicity is to her, to all of them. And it scares Sara because even though he's (mostly) okay with Sara and Felicity being together, Sara knows that Felicity's death would be the one that would truly destroy Oliver.

And yet, knowing this (Felicity herself brought it up), Felicity still bravely forges ahead. Starling City still needs the help and Felicity isn't willing to stop or hide; and not because she believes that she's safe, but because it needs to be done.

It makes her one of the bravest people Sara knows and she hopes that she can continue to be the person Felicity deserves.


	20. Chapter 20

Arriving at the office early, Felicity is surprised to see someone in Oliver's office. Thankfully, she holds back her surprised gasp, especially when she realizes that it's Thea Queen. Once her heart slows down a bit, she opens the door and sticks her head inside.

"Thea?"

She turns to face Felicity looking angrier than Felicity's ever seen anyone, causing Felicity to actually cringe. "Oliver should be here in an hour," she informs Thea.

Thea nods and turns back around.

Felicity debates calling Oliver, but dismisses the idea. Telling him that Thea is waiting for him won't really affect his arrival time, but will definitely add to his stress and since it's highly likely that whatever Thea wants to talk about is going to increase his tension, Felicity figures she'll give him sixty more minutes of ignorance.

The hour passes quickly as Felicity bounces between Queen Consolidated work and Arrow related research. When the elevator dings, announcing Oliver's arrival, Felicity stands to greet him.

"Morning, Felicity," he greets. "What—" He stops upon seeing Thea in his office.

"She was here when I arrived," Felicity explains.

"And you didn't call?"

"You wouldn't have been able to get here any faster," Felicity points out. "Hey Dig."

"Morning Felicity," Diggle replies.

Bracing himself, Oliver strolls into his office and greets his sister.

Whatever has Thea angry isn't making her loud, so Felicity and Diggle resign themselves to pretending that there isn't a fight going on next to them while they make small talk.

The conversation (argument) lasts less than five minutes. The door swings open and Thea stomps out.

"Thea!" Oliver calls, following her. "I'm sorry. I was just trying to—"

"Save it, Ollie," Thea throws over her shoulder. She whips the outer door open so hard that it bounces and stomps to the elevator.

Oliver's shoulders drop as he turns to face Felicity and Diggle.

"What was that about?" Diggle asks, from his position of leaning against Felicity's desk.

"Slade," Oliver growls.

"What could he..."

Oliver struggles for a moment before explaining. "He managed to corner her last night after you guys and Roy left. I must have been properly distracted."

Felicity can only think of one thing that would cause that reaction in Thea. "How did he..."

"I don't know," Oliver replies.

"What did he tell her?" Diggle asks, eyes on Felicity.

Felicity glances at Oliver, who nods. "I may have discovered that Malcolm Merlyn is Thea's father," Felicity admits.

"And though I obviously shouldn't have," Oliver continues. "I followed my mother's example and agreed not to tell Thea after I confronted her."

"Well that explains all the tension between the two of you," Diggle says.

"And now Thea wants nothing to do with me," Oliver tells them. "It was just one too many lies for her."

"Maybe once we stop Slade, you can, uh..." Felicity tries.

Oliver shakes his head. "I have work to do." He holds out his hand. "Any messages?" And just like that, they're playing their alter egos. Felicity nods and changes gears.

**…**

Later in the lair, Felicity's trying to figure out how Slade knows so much about them, when Roy comes stomping down the stairs. Sara's in the shower—having just finished a work out, while Diggle and Oliver are out trying to figure out what to do with the Mirakuru hostage holder from last night.

Roy stalks over to the weapons and snatches up a bow. He then begins shooting angrily and badly at the targets.

"You, uh, want to talk about it?" Felicity tries once Roy's shot all the arrows.

"Thea broke up with me," he snaps, anger still high. 

"Why?"

"She wanted to know where I disappeared to last night," Roy replies, laying the bow down on a nearby table. "And when I couldn't answer, she told me it was over and to get out."

"Did she say why?" Felicity asks, spinning in her chair to face Roy.

"She said that she's done with people keeping secrets from her," Roy replies. "That she's tired of being treated like she's some delicate flower."

"Oh."

"What the hell happened last night after we left?" Roy asks as he starts to pace.

Felicity sighs. It's not her secret to tell, but it's obvious that Roy needs some sort of answer. She worries about the Mirakuru pushing him over the edge. "Slade started his game. Thea and her relationship with Oliver was the first thing to go. Breaking up with you is probably just a by product."

Roy growls and punches a nearby wall. He dents the concrete a bit.

"Uh, Roy?"

"I gotta get out of here," he tells her.

"All right," she replies. "Take your cell?"

He nods, yanks it out of his pocket and waves it at her. 

She nods in return, afraid to provoke him even more.

He then slides it into his back pocket, throws his hood up over his head and runs up the stairs.

**…**

Roy's been gone too long and not answering his cell. Felicity begins tracking it, hoping that he kept it on him and that it hasn't been broken.

She's not the only one worried; Oliver, especially, who is watching over her shoulder as she searches. Felicity wonders if he feels a bit guilty since it's his secret keeping that started this all.

When Felicity finally locks in on the cell phone signal (it was turned off, so finding it took some effort), it's only fifteen blocks away. Pulling up traffic cameras, Felicity tries to find him. When they finally do spot him, he's unconscious, on the ground, slumped against a dumpster.

Oliver and Sara suit up to go retrieve him, very aware that they could be walking into a trap.

As they leave, Felicity tries to figure out what happened to leave him in that state. She has to rewind and back track to retrace his steps, but she eventually figures out what happened.

**…**

No matter what they do, they seem to keep falling into Slade’s traps. Sara suppose it’s because what has happened so far is based on things they did before Slade made himself known. Admittedly, that doesn’t make it any less frustrating.

As she and Oliver make their way towards the unconscious Roy, they can hear Felicity mumbling to herself through the coms as she tries to figure out what happened to Roy. It doesn’t sound good and really leaves Sara wondering if they’re walking into an elaborate trap. And if Slade is the cause, then who is next. Sara’s not worried about herself, but her fear of how Slade will chose to target Felicity has been plaguing her dreams. Glancing towards Oliver as they trek through the shadows, Sara knows that she’s not the only one.

They’re both on high alert when they finally find Roy. It’s obvious that he’s been in a fight and Sara wonders how many guys he fought.

Oliver tosses Roy over his shoulder and they head back to the lair, still unsure that whether or not they're about to be attacked.


	21. Chapter 21

Sara and Oliver make it back with the still unconscious Roy with no problems. Felicity and Diggle have already watched the footage of what happened as Sara and Oliver made the trek back. So while they get Roy settled, the retrievers watch Roy try to take on three guys that have obviously been dosed with Mirakuru too.

“What did they drug him with?” Oliver asks as he watches a needle get jammed into Roy’s side.

Felicity is already in the process of taking a sample of blood as Diggle tightens the restraints on Roy. Though they hate to do it, both Felicity and Diggle agreed (and know that Sara and Oliver will too) that until they know what Roy was shot with, it’s safer that way. 

Seeing that Felicity is getting a sample, Sara begins prepping to test it.

“I’m going to increase the security on Laurel, Thea and your mother,” Diggle says.

Both Oliver and Sara nod in gratitude. Sara, Felicity knows, is especially worried about Laurel since it’s her first week back at the DA’s office and she’s working extra hours, trying to prove that she still belongs there.

While they’re waiting for the results of Roy’s blood, Felicity tries contacting Caitlin at S.T.A.R. labs, hoping for a possible cure.

The not yet she receives in reply isn’t the answer she was hoping for, but all she can do is thank them for the update and hope that Roy’s blood reveals something.

**…**

After two rapid fire attacks within twenty-four hours, nothing happens for days.

Roy is still unconscious and after numerous tests, the only thing Sara can conclude is that he was dosed with an incredibly powerful sedative. But they really have no idea which one. Felicity worries that he’ll never wake up. The others worry what he’ll be like when he does.

These concerns don’t help the building tension (even though they all realize that’s part of Slade’s plan) and leads to Oliver and Sara being even more protective of Felicity, who wonders why they’re both so certain that she'll be the next target. She supposes it makes the most sense, but their constant worry combined with the growing unease is enough to drive her insane.

Thank god for Diggle. Though she knows he’s worried as well, his ability to appear calmer in stressful situations has never been more appreciated. Felicity supposes it’s because he’s used to long drawn out bouts of anticipation. It’s not that he isn’t worried too—Felicity can see it in his eyes when even he looks at her—he’s just better at keeping it from saturating the room or their lair.

**…**

Roy’s been in a coma for over a week and tensions are still high—Felicity included. This is mostly because she’s never alone. Oliver, Diggle or usually Sara is with her. The only time she’s alone is when she’s in the bathroom. So she may be a little irritated.

Still, she knows it’s necessary; it’s only a matter of time before Slade strikes again. But she also sees no reason to go into hiding, so she’s dragged Sara out of their lair for dinner. And they both almost relax enough to enjoy it.

Of course, it isn’t meant to last; the moment they step onto the street, they’re attacked.

The first two seem to be relying solely on the element of surprise because they go down easily. Sara has knocked them out before Felicity has even fully registered it. Seeing this, the next two are a bit more cautious with their attack. 

Meanwhile, the fifth one, focuses on Felicity. He has a knife, so Felicity rushes towards the broken hockey stick she sees sticking out of the dumpster in the alley. It’s long enough to keep some distance between him and her, so Felicity hopes she can keep him away long enough for Sara to help.

The key is to keep moving, she reminds herself as she tries not to let herself get cornered. Initially her attacker was surprised by Felicity grabbing a weapon. But once he realizes he’s able to dodge all her attacks, he regains his confidence. He manages to yank the hockey stick from her grasp and press her against the wall. Smirking, he waves his knife in Felicity’s face and then he’s gone. Felicity watches as Sara wraps an arm around his neck and twists. The resulting crack is loud in the now quiet alley. Felicity stares at Sara in shock.

There isn’t time to talk—there had been shouts calling for the police—so they grab the hockey stick from where it was tossed, because—thanks to Detective Lance—Felicity’s fingerprints are on file and head back to the lair.

Though they don’t talk, Felicity is certain that her shock over Sara killing that last guy is apparent. The air is thick with tension as they hurry back. Although she wants to broach the subject, Sara’s face is a mask and so Felicity keeps quiet, hoping they make it back without being attacked again.

**…**

Breaking the attacker’s neck seems like the only option through the rage that Sara feels when she sees him approach Felicity with a knife. Adrenaline already running high from taking down the others, she acts on instinct to protect Felicity. But the horror in Felicity’s eyes—as if she doesn’t recognize Sara—is something Sara never thought she’d see. Except they don’t have time to deal with that. Instead, they head back to the lair, Sara hobbling the best she can. Still concerned about being attacked, she pushes aside any fears she has of what Felicity now thinks of her.

It’s as Felicity’s helping patch her up that Sara realizes what she has to do. Though the thought of leaving Felicity causes a physical ache, Sara knows she has no choice. The darkness in her soul that she’s been ignoring since she started falling for Felicity is still there and is refusing to stay hidden for any longer. It’s been bubbling below the surface ever since Oliver told her that Slade was after them; and instead of ignoring it, Sara needs to face it. And there’s only one place she can do that.


	22. Chapter 22

Felicity’s pretty sure she’s messed up her relationship with Sara. Ever since they’ve returned to the lair, Sara’s been quietly contemplative. Felicity has a feeling that her reaction to Sara killing one of their attackers did serious damage. Sara hasn’t really looked at Felicity for the past two hours.

And now that they’re back in the apartment, the air is still thick with tension.

Felicity’s trying to be patient and let Sara start the conversation. Felicity’s afraid of seeming like she’s attacking Sara. But at the same time, she’s desperate for Sara to know that her shock earlier wasn’t because Sara killed him, but that Felicity never wanted to be the reason _anyone_ is killed. (Though Oliver assured her that it was his choice, the fact that he killed for her still occasionally plagues her.)

But then Sara—having cleaned up and changed—comes out of the bedroom looking determined and Felicity knows that she’s leaving.

Having been on the couch with her tablet, Felicity sets it aside and stands. “No.”

Posture rigid, Sara replies, “I have to.”

“No you don’t.”

“I do.”

Felicity moves towards Sara, but she holds up her hand and Felicity stops. “Whatever you think I—“

“I scared you,” Sara interjects, her eyes dropping.

“No,” Felicity shakes her head. “You didn’t.”

Sara meets Felicity’s gaze. “I know what I saw Felicity,” she says. “The horror on your face…”

“But not for the reason you think,” Felicity protests.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it does.” Felicity takes a step towards Sara and then stops herself. “After years of… It can’t be easy to just stop and I know you're still struggling with it.”

“And losing, apparently.”

Felicity sighs. “The fact that you… killed him to protect me… is what _I’m_ struggling with.” She holds up her hand to stop Sara’s protests. “The fact that I was okay with it, that killing him… that you love me enough to do that…” Felicity shrugs, unsure how to articulate something she’s still unsure of, herself.

“I’m a killer, Felicity,” Sara says. “It’s instinctual. While I’ll do anything to protect you. It doesn’t—“

“You’re more than that, Sara,” Felicity interrupts. “Just because you used to be an assassin doesn’t mean you haven’t changed, that you’re not a hero.”

“Or maybe we’re all just fooling ourselves,” Sara replies.

“Or you feel too guilty to let yourself move forward,” Felicity tells her. “You did what you had to, to survive. That's what's important."

"Not when you've done everything I've done," Sara protests. 

"You can't let your past define you," Felicity tells her.

"Maybe not," Sara agrees. "But I have to figure out how to come to terms with it if I want to be the person you deserve."

"Just because I haven't... that doesn't mean I—"

Sara steps into Felicity's space, taking Felicity's hands in hers. "We're not done, Felicity. That's not what this is about."

It's a bit reassuring, but Felicity still feels like it's a good bye. "But you're still leaving."

Sara nods. "I have to."

"And you swear that you're coming back?"

Sara nods. "I promise."

"How long?"

"I'm not sure," Sara replies. "But I don't want to be away from you any longer than I have to be."

"Good answer," Felicity smiles sadly.

Sara leans in and kisses Felicity gently. It's full of promise and Felicity fights the urge to deepen it, knowing it'll make it even harder to let Sara walk out the door. (Or for Sara to leave.)

Sara takes a step back. She offers Felicity a small smile and then walks out.

**…**

Felicity actually stares at the door for several minutes, willing Sara to come back. Just because she (mostly) understands why Sara needed to leave, doesn't mean she wanted her to.

Eventually she has to admit that Sara is gone (for now, Felicity reminds herself). Felicity turns and surveys her apartment that now feels too big. She really doesn't want to be here right now, but she knows it's really not safe for her to venture out by herself, so she calls Oliver. She knows he's staying at the lair, so hopefully he won't mind taking a break from brooding to keep her company instead.

To his credit, he doesn't question her when she requests his presence. She makes sure he understands that she's not in any danger and that she just needs a friend. He promises to be right over and Felicity is a bit curious what he thinks is wrong.

He's outwardly cautious when he arrives, but Felicity can see the questions in his eyes. He looks around the apartment and asks, "Where's Sara?"

"She left."

"Left?"

Felicity nods. "Left."

He looks confused. "So you two broke up?"

Felicity leads him to the couch. "Not exactly," she replies. "She just needs some time to... figure things out."

"She's going back to the league?" Oliver questions, obviously disappointed.

Felicity shrugs. "I assume. She just said she needed help figuring out how to be the person I need."

"Oh," Oliver says, awkwardly. "That's..."

Felicity leans into him, hoping it's okay. "I just couldn't be here by myself," she tells him. "Thanks for rushing over."

"Always," Oliver replies, wrapping an arm around her. "Want me to sleep on the couch?"

"Do you mind?"

"I'll feel better knowing you're safe," he assures her.

"Wanna watch some late night TV?" she asks.

"Fine, but I get to pick."

**…**

When Felicity wakes up alone in bed the next morning, she listens for the sounds of Sara in the apartment, hoping that last night was just a bad dream. Instead she hears a heavier shuffling and knows it's Oliver.

She gets ready for the day, knowing that life continues. And she keeps reminding herself that Sara didn't leave for good, no matter how it feels.

Seeing that Oliver made coffee when she steps into the kitchen makes her smile.

"I don't have much food," she apologizes.

"It's all right," he replies. "We can grab something on the way to the office."

"I suppose you need to change," Felicity says, gesturing to his very not CEO like clothing.

He nods. "We'll head back to Verdant and Dig can pick us both up there."

"You're not worried about how it's going to look when we arrive together?" Felicity teases as she pours them both coffee.

Oliver grins. "Not if you don't."

**…**

Though she had to do it, there's part of Sara that is screaming at herself to turn around. Leaving Felicity feels like a terrible idea, especially with the threat of Slade. Felicity dying while she's gone is an actual possibility and Sara knows that she'll never forgive herself if that happens.

But she also doesn't trust herself to stay. The only reason she even considered leaving is because she knows that Oliver will do everything in her power to protect Felicity.

Truthfully what Sara's really afraid of is Felicity not taking her back. Not that they broke up but leaving the continent is still a big deal. Or more specifically, returning to seek solace with an ex. Sara can admit that knowing something like that would drive her crazy. Hopefully Felicity understands why Sara feels like she needs Nyssa's help.


	23. Chapter 23

It's never discussed, of course. Diggle simply picks them both up at the lair every morning. Felicity staying with Oliver just makes sense now that Sara is gone.

They spend over a week waiting for Slade to make his next move. Well, no, that's not exactly true. They scour the entire city, but with nothing to go on, they're searching blind. Felicity tries every-thing she can think of to find him, but comes up empty. Diggle spars with Oliver _a lot_ and it seems to help some, though Felicity worries that Oliver is taking too much of his frustration out on Dig.

And then one morning they arrive at the office to find the police—including Detective Lance—waiting for them.

"What's going on, Mr. Lance?" Oliver asks.

"Believe it or not," he replies. "I'm not here for you."

"Me?" Felicity asks.

He shakes his head and turns apologetically towards Diggle.

“John Diggle, you’re under arrest for the murder of Adrian Gracen.”

Diggle remains stoic, letting himself be handcuffed.

“I’ll send my lawyer down,” Oliver tells him.

Felicity shoots Detective Lance a questioning look and he nods before walking Diggle out.

“Do you think…” Felicity asks Oliver once the elevator doors have closed and they’re alone on the floor.

“Slade,” Oliver growls. “I’m going to call my lawyer,” he says, stalking into his office.

Felicity goes to her desk. She wonders how Slade managed to get Diggle arrested for a death that has already been declared a suicide. She can’t help but worry. So far, Slade’s promise of making sure Oliver is completely alone is coming true. Though she does wonder what was supposed to happen the week before with her and Sara. Were they supposed to die? Or just be put out of commission like Roy?

Felicity tries not to think about it as she starts investigating how Diggle was set up.

**…**

Receiving a call from Laurel is actually the most surprising part of Felicity’s morning. They have spent time together several times because of Sara, but Felicity is still surprised when the reinstated ADA calls because of Diggle. Well, and because of Detective Lance. Apparently he asked Laurel to get in touch with Felicity since he wouldn’t be done with his shift for several hours.

It’s not ideal since Laurel doesn't know as much as her dad does, and so Felicity has to keep reminding herself to choose her words very carefully.

Apparently a witness came forward claiming that he saw Diggle putting an already dead Gracen in his car.

“He’s being denied bail, which is absurd,” Laurel explains. “This whole thing stinks of money and political influence. I just can’t figure out what Diggle did that someone would come after him like this.”

Felicity really has no response to that, so she thanks Laurel for calling.

“Of course,” Laurel replies. “Dad said he’ll call later. But I'll do everything I can to get Diggle out of Iron Heights.”

Though grateful, Felicity’s surprised by the vehement promise of keeping Diggle from going down for this. Felicity wonders if it’s because he’s saved her life, or just the fact that he’s someone important in Oliver’s life, or even that she just doesn’t believe that he’s guilty. Either way, she’s grateful to Laurel and Detective Lance for keeping her and Oliver informed. She just hopes that they don’t ask her where Sara is.

Seeing that Oliver’s off the phone, she stands and goes to update him on the situation.

**…**

Felicity and Oliver barely leave the lair now. With it being just the two of them and Slade still out there, it seems the safest. Felicity spends all her time trying to find Slade or anything that will get Diggle out of jail. Oliver chases down leads, but they are few and far between. Still there seems to be no other option, but to keep searching.

She’s constantly in contact with either Laurel or Detective Lance as they try to find evidence to free Diggle as well—well in between all the other things required of their jobs. Felicity also texts Sara daily. She never receives an answer, but the phone stays on, so Felicity takes this as a sign that she should continue. She (mostly) understands why Sara doesn’t respond, but Felicity still wants her to know what she’s coming back to and that she's missed.

Both Laurel and Detective Lance have asked Felicity about Sara taking off and she tries to be as vaguely honest as possible, that Sara’s still afraid of who her past has made her and she needed some time to figure it out. Detective Lance understands this implicitly, though it’s obvious that he wonders what exactly happened to create this crisis, but he accepts Felicity’s answer. Laurel is definitely a bit more confused, but thankfully doesn’t push for details or a more specific answer. She probably realizes that Felicity really can’t say.

Luckily, it doesn’t stop either of them from trying to help.

**…**

Being back is strange. Sara’s thankful that she was welcomed. Just because Nyssa released her doesn’t mean her father approves. It probably helps that Sara spends most of her time with Nyssa or meditating.

She’s not sure how to find the answers she’s seeking, but searching for them where she became the person she is now makes the most sense. 

It’s also difficult to keep things platonic between her and Nyssa. Though she is respectful of the boundaries that Sara laid out when she first arrived, there’s still so much history and love between them that even for Sara—who is in love with Felicity—it is difficult to ignore.

Though disappointed that Sara is involved with someone else, the fact that it’s not Oliver seems to make things a bit better. Sara briefly talks about Felicity, though only because a text from her comes in while Nyssa is around. Upon learning about the situation back in Starling, Nyssa agrees that Sara needs to return soon.


	24. Chapter 24

Felicity misses Sara. It’s only been a few weeks, but she misses her a lot. She tries not to. There’s certainly enough to distract her from her absent girlfriend, but Felicity still misses her.

And she’s not the only one. She actually had an incredibly awkward dinner with Detective Lance (Quentin, she reminds herself). It was under the pretense of talking about progress in clearing Diggle, but they mostly ended up talking about Sara. She feels bad because there aren’t too many questions that Felicity can answer for him. She just wishes that she could say that she’s heard from Sara to reassure him. Still it's nice. It almost feels like having a father figure (she assumes) in her life.

She's also extremely thankful that he doesn't ask anything about the Arrow, except for vague things. He seems to understand the need for secrecy now.

Oliver picks her up at the apartment and thankfully Detective Lance (Quentin) seems to understand why. Though he many not know about Slade's vendetta, he does know how dangerous the streets of Starling City are.

"Any news about Dig?" Oliver asks as they head back to the lair.

"No," Felicity replies. "There seems to be a lot of money involved."

Oliver shakes his head. "Where the hell did Slade get enough money to be an influential player in Starling?"

"He's had plenty of time to plot and plan," Felicity reminds him. "And vengeance is a powerful motivator."

Oliver just sighs.

Felicity understands the feelings of inadequacy. There seems to be no way to get Diggle out. She feels horrible that he has to sit in a jail cell all the time. Felicity hopes he's doing okay.

**…**

The call from Caitlin comes in when Felicity is wallowing in a pit of desperation. They can't find Slade, Diggle is still in jail and Roy seems to be getting worse. Knowing there's a cure seems like a sign that maybe things are starting to go their way.

The problem is getting a hold of it. Oliver agrees that it's not safe once it leaves the lab because there's no way that Slade doesn't know of its existence. Picking it up seems like the only option, except Felicity can't go by herself and Oliver can't be seen going either. The only solution seems to be that the both of them go, even though they both worry about being ambushed. 

Felicity talks to Caitlin about picking it up and luckily, they'll only have to wait a couple more hours.

**…**

Oliver wants to test the cure on Roy, but Felicity is reluctant since they don't really know what it'll do.

"Caitlin insists that it removes the Mirakuru completely from the blood," Oliver reminds her.

Which Felicity is fully aware of since she's the one who told Oliver this. It doesn't make her feel any more sure about injecting Roy with it. 

"What choice do we have?" Oliver questions. "We have to know if it works. And without it, he's probably going to spend the rest of his life unconscious. We both know he wouldn't want that."

Felicity reluctantly agrees and watches Oliver inject the cure into Roy.

They know it'll probably take a while to work, with all the other things in his system, so they position themselves nearby to watch and plan what's next.

Of course, having the cure is only the first part of the solution. They still don't know where Slade is, much less how to take him down. They brainstorm as they put the cure into injection arrows.

"Is one dose going to be enough?" Felicity questions. "If Slade has had the Mirakuru in his system for years?"

"Probably no," Oliver replies. "Optimally, it'd be nice to dose him a couple times."

"Well then we'll have to hope for optimal conditions," Felicity retorts.

**…**

Sara's not sure if it's the setting, the meditation, talking to Nyssa or just being so far from Starling City, but things are starting to make sense. And while she knows that finding balance here is infinitely easier than it will be when she returns, Sara feels more prepared to handle it. She knows it's almost time for her to return.

"When are you planning on leaving?" Nyssa asks.

They've just finished sparing and it's almost like it was before. Though she knows she needs to go, part of her is reluctant to leave.

"Soon," Sara replies, returning the practice bô to its place. "A few days."

Nyssa nods, though it's obvious that she isn't happy with that answer.

"I have too many things still unfinished there," Sara says.

"Perhaps," Nyssa replies. "But I take it that it is more about returning to your girlfriend."

"I love her."

"I know."

They part company after that. Nyssa seems reluctant to be around her at the moment and Sara is eager to see if Felicity has texted. Though she still hasn't replied, the texts have been a bit of a lifeline, a reminder of what she left behind. She hates that she can't be there to help, but knowing that her dad and sister are worried too, means she has to figure things out so she can get back as soon as possible. There aren't any more texts, but an actual voicemail. That causes panic and Sara quickly checks it.

"Sara, it's Oliver. Felicity said she's been texting you, but you haven't replied. You need to get back here. He took her and I'm... I need your help. I can't do this by myself. You have to come back. Sara, please... I can't lose her too." And then there's a lot commotion and the message ends.

Knowing she has no choice, Sara goes to find Nyssa. She needs to get back to Starling City. Now.


	25. Chapter 25

Once the cure has been moved from the vials, Felicity picks up her phone to text Sara an update. She knows she's probably being ridiculous, but keeping in communication—even one sided—makes Felicity miss Sara a little less.

"Who are you texting?" Oliver asks.

"Sara."

"Why?"

Felicity shrugs. "So she knows what she's coming back to. A lot of things have happened since she left and I want her to know."

"Has she replied?"

Felicity shakes her head as she sets down her phone. "But it's... it helps me... And maybe this time she'll answer, or at least tell me when she's coming back."

Oliver pulls Felicity into a hug. "She'll be back. She just needs to figure some stuff out."

"I know," Felicity sniffles into his shoulder.

"I needed two months back on the island after Tommy's death," he reminds her.

Felicity rolls her eyes. "I remember."

"Good," Oliver says, pulling away slightly.

**…**

The next afternoon when both their phones ring, they're both shocked and go to separate corners to answer them. 

Not that it's needed, both calls are Queen Consolidated related and brief.

"Responsibility calls," Oliver says. "I better change."

Felicity nods as he goes to put a suit on. She wonders what the heck the emergency at Queen Consolidated could be. She's been monitoring all the news feeds and sources, while still accessing various things from the company computers and everything seems to be fine. She's supposes it could be Isabel Rachev tying to make a move, but it didn't sound like it.

It's odd sitting in front of the car as Oliver drives. But without Diggle, it seems like the only way to do things. Felicity prepares to switch gears. It's been long enough that it's taking a moment to remember how to be Oliver's executive assistant instead of the Arrow's source of tech.

Glancing at Oliver, she can see him preparing as well. As the light turns green, the car moves forward, only to be slammed into. Felicity is flung against her door an there's a roaring chaos as the glass shatters and metal crunches and then it's pain and finally darkness.

**…**

Felicity wakes up with a terrible headache. She lets out a groan and hears a chilling chuckle. Opening her eyes is a struggle, as is lifting her head. Eventually it registers that she's sitting on a folding chair facing a smirking Slade Wilson.

"Nice of you to join me, Ms. Smoak," He greets. He holds up a plastic bottle. "Water?"

Though thirsty, Felicity is wary of accepting anything from Slade.

"Beautiful and smart," Slade remarks, opening the bottle and taking a sip. "Kid knows how to pick 'em." He offers Felicity the bottle again.

She accepts it, but is still reluctant to drink.

"Is there a problem?" he asks.

"Aren't you like basically invincible?" she replies. "I bet there could be tons of things in here that you're immune to, that I'm not."

"Indeed there could be," he agrees. "But hurting you now isn't part of my plan."

"Oh."

"He has..." Slade looks at his watch. "A full fifteen hours before the deadline."

"Deadline?" Felicity questions, glancing around, trying to gauge her surroundings.

"In fifteen hours, my men will be taking hostages at Starling General Hospital. I will text him our location at the same time. He has a choice. Stop them or save you," Slade explains. 

"And what's to stop him from finding me sooner?" Felicity asks.

"How?" Slade retorts. "Your purse and cell phone was left at the accident scene. And without you, he's all alone. And while the kid's smarter than I originally thought, I was very thorough in making sure he couldn't find us."

Not sure what else to say, Felicity takes a sip of the water. "So where are we, exactly?"

"Are you really so certain that he will choose to save you?" Slade questions.

"No," Felicity replies, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. "But I do know he will do what he thinks is right."

"How such a coward is able to gain such loyalty..."

"Oliver is no longer the man you knew," Felicity says. "And he was never a coward."

"Well shall see, Ms. Smoak."

**…**

The trip back to Starling City is a haze of impatience for Sara. The fact that Nyssa is with her and is using her contacts for a speedier return is more than Sara could have hoped for.

When they reach the lair, Sara is shocked to find Diggle and Roy beside Oliver, formulating a plan.

"What is she doing here?" Oliver asks, eyeing Nyssa.

"She's here to help," Sara assures him.

"Why?"

"I am not required to explain myself to you," Nyssa replies.

"Sara, good to see you," Diggle greets.

"When'd you get out?"

"An hour ago," he replies. "Though how'd you know?"

"Someone's been keeping me advised of the situation here," Sara tells him.

Diggle grins. "Of course she has."

"Roy," Sara nods.

He nods in return and eyes Nyssa cautiously.

Sara wonders if him being awake means that the cure works. "So what's the plan?"

Oliver explains the ultimatum that Slade has issued and the plan he's come up with. "Our only advantage is that he doesn't realize I have help."

Sara agrees. But with Felicity's life on the line, heading off to fight a dozen of Slade's Mirakuru army isn't where she wants to be.

"I'm coming with you," Sara tells Oliver.

"Sara..." he starts. "This is between Slade and I."

"It doesn't have to be," Sara replies.

"Slade's men need to be stopped," Oliver says.

"And we both know he won't go down as easily as the newbies."

Glancing over at the others, Oliver grabs Sara by the arm and drags her aside.

"You don't trust me to do everything in my power to protect her?" he questions.

"Of course I do," Sara replies. 

"Then please trust me," he tells her. "I have a plan. So I need you to protect the city and I promise that I'll protect Felicity."

She wants to argue with him, but she can't. Felicity mentioned a plan and she has to trust that, no matter how much she wants to go with him. "Ollie... I..."

"I know," he says.


	26. Chapter 26

Felicity's never been known for her patience and sitting here, alone in a random warehouse office with her kidnapper, has her bouncing between frightened and angry. She's scanned the room dozens of times for a weapon of sorts, but except for a cheap metal desk, the chairs they're sitting on and a desk lamp, the room seems to be empty.

Not that anything she could find would do much against Slade, but Felicity's not one for complete inaction. And though she and Oliver did come up with a possible plan—since Slade targeting Felicity was an obvious possibility—she still hates that she's forced to sit here and wait.

She wishes that Oliver wasn't by himself. Though he likes to think that closing himself off is his only choice, she and Diggle (plus Sara and even Roy) have spent so much time trying to convince him that they're a team and that he doesn't always have to do things alone. So of course, now that it seems like they've actually convinced him, Slade has to go and ruin it. She hates to admit that it's a rather effective form of revenge. And even though she's scared, and being held hostage, Felicity still considers herself lucky. Roy's unconscious and may never wake up, Thea had her world shattered, Sara's questioning the past year (if not longer) of her life and Dig is stuck in jail. It makes Felicity wonder if Slade had been planning anything for Laurel. It's part of the reason why she's spent some of the last few hours studying him.

"You have a question, Ms. Smoak?" he asks. 

(She knew he would eventually. It was just a matter of waiting him out. Everything with him seems to be a game. This one being, who would become more impatient, her with her questions or him wondering what she was thinking.)

"I was just curious," Felicity says. "If you'd planned to do anything to Laurel Lance." She knows he understands her and his smile at Felicity mentioning Laurel is not what she'd been expecting.

"I must admit, that I can see why the kid fancies you," Slade chuckles. "I had hoped that Ms. Lance would put herself on the line to get Mr. Diggle out of jail. Either way, it's a win for me. She helps him and loses her job again, thus resenting Oliver, just as Ms. Queen does. Or she doesn't help and Oliver realizes that he can no longer count on her. I honestly wasn't sure which way it would go, but I'm pleased to see that Ms. Lance finally realizes that being associated with Oliver Queen only leads to agony."

Apparently Laurel and Detective Lance's attempts to free Diggle have been even more under the radar than Felicity realized. She's thankful because she'd hate to think what would have happened to them if Slade knew what they were doing. It seems like what has saved them is things _not_ going exactly how Slade planned. Or maybe it's Slade's ego blinding him to the minute details. Either way, Felicity's grateful.

**…**

Felicity watches Slade send Oliver a text. Then with a satisfied grin, he stands and motions Felicity to stand as well. She does, trying not to tremble too much. She has a tentative plan if Oliver doesn't show up, but it really depends on where Slade wants this confrontation to happen. When he leads her to a metal staircase, Felicity barely holds back her groan. Of course, he wants it to happen on the highest walkway in the abandoned factory. They ascend quickly and Slade places them in the middle of the walkway. Felicity does her best not to look down too much as she scans her surroundings and schemes on what she'll do if Oliver doesn't show up.

The Mirakuru must also give Slade super hearing because he seems to know when Oliver has arrived. He wraps him arm loosely around Felicity, placing the blade near her neck. Felicity's trembling is real because the more time spent with Slade, the more obvious it has become that he will _never_ let his vendetta go. Even if she and Oliver have a plan to stop him, she's not sure what can be done about Slade in the long run.

As Slade taunts Oliver about his choices and how alone he will soon be, Felicity wonders who is saving the people at the hospital. Oliver wouldn't have abandoned them. However, Felicity knows she needs to pay attention, to make sure that she catches Oliver's signal. Though focused, the glances Oliver throws Felicity imply that the plan is still in place and so with Slade's attention distracted as he looks for the trap Oliver just implied, Felicity slips the syringe out of her jacket pocket and stabs him in one of the few exposed areas of skin—his neck. 

His grip on her slips and Felicity rushes to Oliver, who pushes her behind him.

"Go," he tells her. "I've got this."

As Felicity edges away, she sees Oliver is armed with both injection arrows and regular ones. 

Her fear of heights makes her makes her descent slower than she'd like—that and the fact that she keeps looking over her shoulder at the fight.

When she reaches the ground—the soundtrack of the fight chasing her down—Felicity tries to watch. Felicity somewhat understand why Slade choose to confront Oliver on the highest walkway in the factory (Felicity's fear of heights, being able to better sense Oliver coming and adding to the danger that Felicity already was in), but as she watches the two of them fight, Felicity has to wonder if he's regretting it. Because of the narrow walkway and the high railings, the fight seems to require a lot more concentration and precision. It's mostly hand to hand, the close quarters and narrow space dictating it. 

Anxiety rising, Felicity watches fearful. It's obvious that Oliver is hurting since, despite being dosed with the cure, the Mirakuru in Slade still seems to be working in full force. Felicity's pretty sure that it's only Oliver's pure stubbornness that is keeping him going. Though she can't hear them, it's obvious that Slade is continuing his taunts. He's apparently still confident that he will succeed.

It's that over confidence that gives Oliver the slight advantage. Slade stumbles slightly over an arrow that's lodged on the platform and it's that brief bit of imbalance that Oliver uses to push him over the rail.

Mirakuru or not, a fall from fifty feet is enough to stun Slade. Oliver pulls out more injection arrows and shoots Slade where ever he's exposed. One right after the other is fired in rapid succession until Oliver seems to be out. He then jumps over the rail—Felicity's heart stops briefly—grabs a nearby chain and lets his weight drag the chain to the ground.

Slade is still immobile on the ground and Oliver approaches slowly, arrow primed. Satisfied that he's out for the moment, Felicity and Oliver being looking around the warehouse for ways to restrain him.

**…**

"Did the cure work?" Felicity asks as they wrap an impossible number of chains around Slade. "Did Roy wake up and he's over there saving the hostages?"

Oliver nods. "And Laurel managed to get the charges dropped against Diggle."

Felicity grins in relief. Even though she knows Diggle can take care of himself, she'd still been worried. "Thank god. Though are they enough to stop a dozen guys hoped up on Mirakuru? Should we head over there?"

Oliver shakes his head. "They're not alone and they have the cure. As long as the arrows hit their marks, they'll be fine," he assures her. "And then they'll be on their way to help with Slade."

"You didn't send Detective Lance along with them?" Felicity questions. "Because I'm not sure tha—is he breathing?" It's difficult to tell with all the chains wrapped around Slade, but it doesn't look like it to Felicity.

Oliver curses under his breath and checks Slade's pulse. Judging by the continuous cursing he doesn't find one.

Considering—as far as Felicity knows—Oliver didn't come up with a concrete plan for dealing with Slade afterwards, him dying seems to solve one problem. She is curious if it was the fall. Apparently not even the Mirakuru made him invincible.

Felicity watches as Oliver tries to contact Diggle over the coms.

**…**

Once the plan has been finalized, it's time to leave. Though it's obvious that neither Roy or Diggle is happy about having to fight alongside Nyssa, both trust Sara enough to at least keep quiet and limit their irritation to glaring. Oliver didn't protest as much as Sara expected, proving how much he's worried about Felicity—plan or not. Sara tries not to let her worry split her focus. 

The four of them arrive at Starling General the same time that Slade's men do. Because of this, the fight begins in the street and not inside the hospital, which is infinitely easier.

There are only eight of them—enough to cause chaos and havoc, but honestly, not insurmountable challenge to the four of them. Especially since they have the cure. However, the fight does last longer than Sara was hoping. The cure doesn't immediately immobilize the men and so they have to keep fighting as they wait for it take effect.

They leave the eight men tied up in the middle of the sidewalk and Diggle makes an anonymous call to the police. They know the cure works and so it seems the easiest to just let the police come and handle the rest.

Just as Diggle's ending his call, Oliver's voice comes over the coms, demanding their presence. Sara worries that something's gone wrong with the plan—that something's happened to Felicity. And so the four of them quickly head over the warehouse that Oliver was supposed to meet Slade at.


	27. Chapter 27

Felicity really hopes that Diggle gets here soon since Oliver seems unwilling to accept that Slade is dead. He's pacing in front of the body and growling to himself. And while Felicity understands that Oliver is trying not to kill people anymore, it's certainly not his fault that Slade fell. Well, technically it is, but since Slade was trying to kill Oliver as well, it's totally understandable.

"It's not your fault, Oliver," Felicity says, hoping to pull him out of the brood she can see starting.

"I shouldn't have—"

"Oliver, you were fighting for your life," Felicity points out. "And I honestly thought that Slade was basically invincible."

Oliver has actually stopped pacing. "I did too," he admits. "And I was hoping that maybe..."

The bang of the door swinging open announces that Diggle has arrived. And judging by the footsteps heading towards them, he's not alone. But just in case, Oliver is tense and ready.

Except that the first person Felicity sees is the last one she was expecting. (She briefly wonders why Oliver didn't mention that Sara was back.) She's about to rush to greet Sara when she notices Nyssa Al Ghul standing behind her (Felicity's never met her, but she's seen pictures). Fear washes over Felicity as she has no idea how to interpret Nyssa's presence.

Diggle pushes past them, joining Oliver by Slade's body. It doesn't take long to confirm that Slade is dead. Meanwhile, Sara walks around them and pulls Felicity into a hug. 

"I can't believe that you were able to kill him," Sara says to Oliver, still wrapped around Felicity. "He seemed invincible."

"Finally you're showing some sense," Nyssa adds.

Oliver ignores her and says, "It was the fall." He glances up and the others follow his line of sight.

"Damn," Roy mutters.

"He should have survived that," Sara says.

"I think it was the cure," Diggle interjects. "You dosed him, right?"

"I hit him with one," Felicity volunteers.

"And then I gave him another five right after he fell," Oliver adds.

"That might be what killed him," Diggle says, still looking up at the walkway.

"The Mirakuru would have healed his injuries from the fall, no matter how high," Sara explains. "But if the cure was eliminating it from his system, then he probably died from the fall."

"Good riddance," Roy says.

Felicity's inclined to agree. Especially since it means they don't have to worry about him anymore.

"And now we don't have to worry about him anymore," Sara states.

"She's right, Oliver," Diggle adds. "It's probably better this way. You can't save everyone."

Though Diggle's said what they're all thinking, Oliver doesn't reply. Felicity wonders if he guilty about killing his former friend or angry that Slade drove him to that point.

"So now what?" Roy asks.

**…**

Oliver calls Detective Lance and asks him to meet Oliver at the factory. It just seems like the easiest solution; especially because even though Oliver's removed all the arrows, it's obvious that Slade's been shot with them. The rest of them head back to the lair. Diggle wants to look her over, and Sara agrees when they realize that Felicity hasn't been checked over after the car accident.

Felicity can feel Nyssa's eyes on her the entire ride back. It isn't a stare down, but Felicity is definitely being studied. It makes Felicity wonder how much Sara has told Nyssa about her. Leaning against Sara makes the entire experience less nerve wracking than Felicity thought it would be. Or maybe it's the relief that Sara is back and Slade is no longer a threat.

It isn't until everyone's been patched up and Felicity is back in front of her computers—following up on Diggle's release—that she finds herself being confronted by Nyssa.

"So you're Felicity Smoak," Nyssa says, sitting down next to Felicity.

"And you're Nyssa Al Ghul," Felicity replies, turning to face her.

"You are why Sara feels that she must stay here," Nyssa accuses.

"What? No, I..." Felicity stammers. She takes a deep breath. "I can't be the _only_ reason. I mean, there's her family and her, uh... friends?"

"You are not what I was expecting when Sara first said she was... seeing someone," Nyssa tells her.

"I'm sorry?"

Felicity's computer lets her know the search is finished and Felicity switches her focus for a moment.

"Thank you for helping Sara get back here so quickly," Felicity says as she spins to face Nyssa again.

Nyssa nods. "Queen's message was... worrisome."

Felicity nods in reply. She's already listened to it, curious after she learned that Oliver had called Sara. She understands why Sara had been so worried. However, Felicity is really curious why Nyssa accompanied her, traveling halfway across the world to help Oliver rescue Felicity definitely isn't something that Felicity expected of Nyssa.

"You have a question," Nyssa says. (Most likely because Felicity's been quiet for too long.)

"No, I'm just still so surprised that you came with," Felicity replies. "Not that you couldn't, or shouldn't have. But I know you and Oliver don't exactly see eye to eye, not to mention the fact that Sara was coming back because of me and..."

This earns a raised eyebrow.

"Not that you'd be so petty, I mean. You care about Sara and you seem—" Nyssa's smirk causes Felicity rambling to stop. "Thanks," Felicity shrugs.

"I was curious," Nyssa tells Felicity.

"About?"

"You."

"Me?" Felicity gulps.

Nyssa nods. "I did not... agree with Sara's reasons before."

"And now?" Felicity can't help but ask.

"I am learning to accept it," Nyssa replies.

"Oh," Felicity gulps. "Good."

"I am also reassured by what Sara has told me during our travels here," Nyssa continues.

Felicity tries not to wonder too much about that conversation and just nods.

"You are just as she described," Nyssa informs Felicity.

"You sound, uh, surprised by that," Felicity stammers.

"Sara has not always been open about her life here," Nyssa explains. "Even recently. It wasn't until we were on our way here that she gave any details. I suppose I am... struggling with the fact that this is because of you."

"Oh."

"I want Sara to be happy," Nyssa says. "But I also wanted to be the source of it."

Felicity gulps again as the conversation becomes more serious than she anticipated.

"And I always presumed that she would one day return to Nanda Parbat."

"Really?"

"I knew that Oliver Queen and his crusade would one day be at odds with who Sara has become," Nyssa explains. "I did not anticipate her feelings for you making her want to stay."

Felicity really has no idea how to respond to that.

"But I am at least relieved that it is not because of Oliver Queen," Nyssa finishes.

Did Nyssa Al Ghul just give her blessing for her relationship with Sara—albeit, back handedly?

Thankfully Sara's sudden appearance means that Felicity doesn't have to come up with a suitable response.

The hand on her shoulder is rather possessive and Felicity wonders if it's meant as a protective gesture or something else. The reason for Nyssa's amused expression at the gesture is difficult to gauge.

**…**

Oliver seems surprised to find Felicity still at the lair when he exits the shower. It's understandable. Sara is back and Felicity was just kidnapped. But Felicity wants to make sure that anything Slade did or tried to do doesn't come back to haunt any of them. And Nyssa (as expected) doesn't want to stay in Starling City any longer than she needs to.

"How much longer are you going to be?" Oliver asks her as he leans against a table.

Felicity doesn't look up from her screens. "Why?"

"Because I'd like to make sure you get home okay," Oliver replies.

"Oliver."

"Felicity, just because Slade's gone, doesn't mean that I don't worry about you," Oliver tells her.

Felicity spins in her chair to face him. "I'm okay, Oliver, really."

"When I woke up, still in the car, you weren't there," Oliver says. "And I knew he had you and I just... There was a brief moment there where he won. Because I was completely alone and I was so ready to..." Oliver sighs. "Just let me make sure you get home safe, okay? I need that."

Felicity stands and slowly wraps her arms around him. He sighs in relief before hugging her back. They stay like that for a long moment.

"Is this going to be a thing?"

Felicity and Oliver both turn—still hugging—to find Diggle next to them.

"Because I don't do group hugs," Diggle finishes.

"What about team hugs?" Felicity asks, as she holds out her right arm, inviting Diggle to join them.

"Felicity," Oliver sighs.

"What? It's a team building exercise," Felicity replies. "Except with more hugging and less trust falls."

Diggle shakes his head at her. "Are you two ready to go?"

"I just have to do one more thing," Felicity tells him as she pulls away from Oliver. "And then I'm good."

"Considering how much time you two have spent here lately, I would have thought you'd be eager to leave," Diggle says.

"Perhaps. But duty calls," Felicity replies as she plops back onto her chair.

"You have five minutes," Diggle informs her. "And then I'm dragging both of you out of here."

**…**

Once the threat of Slade has been dealt with, Nyssa has no need to stay; which Sara completely understands. Even so, Felicity awkwardly offers Nyssa a place to stay for a few days. Nyssa declines.

"You are full of surprises," Nyssa tells Felicity.

Sara wraps an arm around her girlfriend before her rambling can really get started and Felicity seems grateful for it.

Sara should probably be less surprised that Felicity doesn't protest when Sara says she'll be seeing Nyssa off by herself.

"You have things to say to each other," Felicity explains. "And you don't need me hanging around for that."

Sara nods.

"Besides, I have a few more things that need to be finished here before I leave," Felicity continues.

Knowing that both Oliver and Diggle will be there makes it easier for Sara to leave. The threat of Slade's vengeance is still fresh in all their minds and isn't easy to just shake off.

The private jet that they used to hurry to Starling City is fueled up and waiting for Nyssa.

"Just saying thank you doesn't seem like enough right now," Sara says.

"She makes you happy," Nyssa replies. "I'm just sorry that I no longer can."

"And I'm sorry I couldn't be that person anymore," Sara says. "Part of me really wishes I could be. That we could go back to the way things were."

"I do not believe in moving backwards," Nyssa reminds her. She sighs. "Things are how they're supposed to be." She glances over her shoulder at the obvious anxious pilot. "I should go."

"This is not the end," Sara tells her.

"Don't," Nyssa says.

"I'm not," Sara replies. "But I hate to think that I'll never see you again." 

"I would hate that as well," Nyssa agrees. "And so this isn't good bye."

Sara nods, a sad smile on her face. She watches Nyssa climb onto the tiny plane that quickly exits the hanger. She feels silly, but nonetheless, waves to it as it passes. She stares until she can no longer see it and then heads for her bike, ready to go home to Felicity.


	28. Chapter 28

Felicity's surprised by how little follow up Slade's death requires. She had been operating on the assumption that since he apparently had a lot of money and influence in the city, that his death would have a bigger impact or be investigated more deeply. Instead, because his death was reported as if he was just another victim of the Arrow, the various news outlets instead questioned if the Arrow was returning to his old ways, rather than discuss who exactly Slade was or why the Arrow went after him. Felicity realizes that she probably shouldn't be so surprised by this. (And that she should also be counting her blessing.)

So instead, she's grateful. It means she can spend more time making sure that their tracks are covered better and that they are less traceable. The fact that Slade used Gracen's death against them still kind of bothers Felicity. Even if it was completely true, it wasn't the whole picture. 

She tried apologizing to Diggle about this, but he assured her that it wasn't her fault.

"If it hadn't been Gracen, Slade would have found something else," Diggle points out. "With all that we do, there's plenty of opportunities to turn things against us. After all, the police still think we're the bad guys, right?"

Felicity nods as she watches Diggle continue to take inventory of their medical supplies. Now that things are a bit quieter, there are a lot of maintenance type things that need to be done around the lair. 

"And Iron Heights is definitely not the worst jail I've ever been in," Diggle adds.

Knowing that the Russian jail was probably much worse makes her feel a bit better; except that time it had been his choice. This time, not so much.

"We stopped Slade," Diggle reminds her. "That's what matters. Everything else, we can deal with."

**…**

Since no one else really knew that Slade was trying to destroy Oliver, it's easy enough for things to get back to normal. Since outwardly nothing's changed, everyone continues on and does their best to fix things behind the scenes.

Roy and Oliver's relationship with Thea seems to the first thing they need to worry about. To Oliver's annoyance and Roy's embarrassment and amusement (Felicity's impressed that Roy manages to be both mortified and entertained at the same time.), it becomes a team conversation. After some discussion, it's decided that Roy should tell Thea that he's working with the Arrow and then maybe his secret keeping will be more understandable.

Oliver is reluctant about this at first, as the protective older brother, he still wants Roy to stay away from Thea. But—as Felicity, Diggle and Sara point out—if he trusts Roy as a member of the team, then he should be okay with him dating Thea. Especially since simply being Oliver Queen's sister seems to put in her plenty of danger.

Fixing Oliver's relationship with Thea is a much more daunting task. With all the secrets that Oliver is keeping from his family, truly reconciling with Thea seems impossible.

Felicity suggest that Oliver share some of his secrets with Thea, maybe even if it's something small, just as a start. 

Diggle adds that maybe Oliver wait and see how Thea responds to Roy.

"Maybe you don't have to share a specific secret," Sara offers. "Just explain why you're keeping so many."

Roy, wisely, remains quiet.

Oliver's response is, "I'll think about it," and the subject matter is obviously closed.

Felicity wishes that they could offer better advice, but there are still so many secrets, that there really isn't a good solution. Felicity just hopes that the explanation from Roy will be a good first step towards mending relationships.

**…**

Once the relief of having Sara back has worn off, the underlying fear of being left appears. Since Felicity's met her, Sara's taken off twice. Just because she did so to protect those she cares about, doesn't make Felicity worry any less about being left. 

It's easy enough for the concern to get lost in the shuffle. They're all still living double lives and there always seems to be some wrong in Starling City that needs to be righted. And Felicity's not the only one that missed Sara, so some time passes before Felicity's fear is spoken about. 

They're alone in the lair. Felicity is just finishing some things up on the computers while Sara waits for her. There's a sense of calm in the air as Sara is next to Felicity, just watching her work. Sara claims seeing Felicity in hacker mode is one of her favorite things to watch. Felicity's mostly gotten used to being observed while she works. (And since she enjoys watching Sara work out, she figures fair's fair.)

"Just need a minute for it to finish," Felicity says, spinning to face Sara. "And then we can go."

"I missed watching you work," Sara states. 

Since Felicity's been a bit distracted all day, worrying about their relationship, she blurts out, "If Oliver hadn't called you, when would you have come back? Would you have come back?"

Coming out of (seemingly) nowhere, the questions take them both by surprise.

"I told you I was coming back," Sara replies. "I always planned to come back."

"Do you plan on leaving again?" Felicity asks.

"This is where I want to be, babe," Sara tells her. "I know it might of seemed like I was running back to Nyssa, choosing her over you—"

"I didn't think that," Felicity insists.

"I wouldn't blame you if you did," Sara replies.

Felicity sighs. She glances back at the screens and sees it's about half way done. "This isn't the first time you've taken off," Felicity says. "So what's the stop you from leaving again?"

Sara takes Felicity's hands in hers and waits until Felicity's looking at her before speaking. "Before... I wasn't... committed to being here. There was always a small part of me that wanted to run, that was afraid to stay."

"And now?" Felicity asks.

"And now I think I've figured out how the person I was—the person that did so many horrible things—can maybe become the hero you see."

Felicity pulls away. That answer almost seems too good to be true. "So you run to the league and suddenly everything makes sense?"

"Not really," Sara replies. "But kind of."

"Oh, well that clears it all up," Felicity retorts.

"Why did you keep texting me?" Sara asks. "I mean, I never replied."

"You're saying you didn't want me to?" Felicity counters.

"No," Sara replies. "I'm glad you did. It helped. It reminded me that this is where I want to be—that you're who I want to be with."

"Then why didn't you reply?" Felicity asks. "I know you were on some great quest, but—"

"It was just easier that way," Sara interjects. "Then I could pretend that I didn't miss you or anyone else here. I knew it was the only way I'd be able to stay focused and figure things out."

"Oh."

"But don't think for one minute that I didn't appreciate the texts," Sara says. "They were exactly what I needed."

"You do realize that returning with your ex girlfriend makes that a bit difficult to believe," Felicity points out.

"She's the reason I got back here so quickly," Sara argues. "And you were okay letting me see her off alone."

Felicity groans. "I remember."

"But now you're not?" Sara questions.

"That's not what I'm saying," Felicity protests. "I'm just not sure I could handle you leaving again."

"Why do you assume I will?" Sara questions.

It's something that Felicity's been trying to figure out herself. Where does this fear come from? "You went through something... traumatic, life changing... and you're still struggling with it," Felicity starts. "Understandably. And I can't ever... would never..." She sighs. "I know it's not fair to compare you to Oliver. Your... journeys were different, the reasons for coming back—or in your case, for not—are different. But my brain can't stop worrying. He used his time on the island as an excuse for so many things. And I know that you've told me more about the last six years than you've told anyone else. But it's what made you leave Starling both times."

"I came back for you, though," Sara says. "And unlike Oliver, I believe that a relationship is possible. It was just hard sometimes because you saw a hero and I saw..." Sara shrugs. "A killer."

"And now?" Felicity asks.

"I still don't see myself as a hero," Sara answers. "But I want to stay here, with you and... be the person you deserve."

"Sara," Felicity sighs. "I'm glad that you're staying. But I don't want you to be anyone, but you. I just want to know that you're going to be here, stay here."

"This is where I want to be," Sara assures her. "And I know believing me may take some time."

"Just like it'll take some time for you to realize that you're a hero," Felicity counters.

"Exactly," Sara grins. She glances at the computers. "I think it's done."

Felicity glances over her shoulder. "All right. I just have to do one thing and we can go."

Sara nods as Felicity spins to face the screens. It's just a few clicks—with a grinning Sara watching—and then Felicity is done.

"Ready?" she asks, standing.

"Definitely."

As they walk hand in hand to Felicity's car, Felicity does actually feel a bit lighter. Apparently she'd been more worried about Sara taking off again than she realized. And it's not like things are completely settled or all questions have been answered, but it's a start.

Felicity realizes that it's also because the five of them feel more like a team now. Slade's vengeance actually made them more solid as a group. His scheme failed in more ways than one. Instead of destroying the team, they've created, it's actually stronger.

The same can be said about her relationship with Sara. Felicity knew that Sara still struggled with her past—and that the struggle isn't over—but Felicity thinks that the acceptance of it will help Sara eventually be at peace with it.

Felicity can feel Sara's eyes on her as she drives and while she doesn't mind, Felicity's pretty sure that Sara's basically been staring at her for almost an hour. The grin that has accompanied it is pretty endearing, though.

"What are you smiling about?" Felicity asks.

"You," Sara answers. "I love you."

"I love you too."

**…**

Being back in Starling City is strange for Sara. It's only been a few weeks that she's been gone, but it feels different somehow. Maybe because this time she returned with the intention of staying. Before, she returned because she felt she had to or should, because there were things that needed to be done, questions that needed to be answered. But there was always a part of her that thought staying in Starling City wasn't permanent. Maybe that's why—despite there being so many reasons to stay—she was able to leave before. But now, now she knows that what she needs is here. And that while she's still struggling with who she is and how she got here, at least it no longer feels like the people in her life (those she came back to and those she's just found) need her to be anyone, but who she is.

It's honestly a relief how easily everything falls back into place. She has dinner on a regular basis with her dad and Laurel. Team Arrow is back together—though still working through things—and doing its best to help the people of Starling City. Even her friendship with Oliver seems to be in a good place.

Laurel has a lot more questions about Sara leaving than her dad does. Because though he might not know the specifics, he probably already figured some of it out. And so things return to normal between them. He still has dinner with Sara and occasionally Sara and Felicity; and he's still willing to contact them when Team Arrow's presence is needed.

With Laurel, Sara isn't sure what to tell her. She knows it's really only a matter of time before Laurel figures it all out; her sister's not stupid. But Sara's still not entirely sure what Laurel would think of all of it, how Sara's spent the last few years of her life. And the small part of her that craves her older sister's approval is afraid to tell her. So she does her best to explain as much as she can without explaining it all. She knows it's only a temporary situation, but hopefully it'll allow her to tell Laurel at her own pace.

She considers talking to her dad about it. Sara trusts his judgment on the matter, but she also doesn't want to put him in that position. He's already keeping her secret. Sara feels that telling Laurel needs to be handled by her. It's also why she doesn't ask Oliver his opinion. He'd probably prefer to keep Laurel in the dark as much as possible—for her safety, of course. And Sara agrees on some level, but the rift between Oliver and Thea seems to be evidence enough that keeping everything a secret will just come back to haunt her.

For now, she'll leave things how they are. It probably helps that she promised Laurel that she will explain more, but that she's just not ready yet. 

It's her relationship with Felicity that (understandably) doesn't so easily just fall into place. Sara always knew that her leaving would have to be discussed. What she hadn't realized is how afraid Felicity still is that Sara will take off again. In retrospect, she can't completely blame her. Taking off like she did, while Slade was out there... Sara was so afraid of the killer inside her, that leaving truly seemed like the only solution.

Sara knows that Felicity understands this; they've talked about the fear Sara has of being unable to be anything but a killer. However, Sara also knows that Felicity has issues with being left behind. And she kind of hates herself for doing something that so easily feeds off that fear. Especially when Felicity sees her only as Sara and not an assassin. 

All Sara has to offer is honesty, about why she left, but more importantly, why she came back. Hopefully that means more than her leaving does. She likes to think it does—and it really does seem like it, but she knows the real proof is time. She's just thankful that Felicity's willing to give her that time. She just hopes that it doesn't take as long as it takes Sara to see herself the way Felicity does. Sara's no hero—she's not sure she could _ever_ consider herself one—she's done too many irredeemable things.

But really all that matters is that she's happy, really and truly happy. And that the fear of her own darkness isn't hanging over her like it used to be. She and Laurel are on good terms again. Her dad is proud of her in a way she never expected. She and Oliver have reached a comfortable place in their friendship, where the awkward and intense history between them has become its strength. Plus, she loves Felicity Smoak, who loves her back. And that's more than she ever thought she'd have again.


End file.
